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JOHN    HUSa 


Leaders  of  the  Reformation 


JOSEPH  HENRY  DUBBS,   D.D.,   LL.D. 


THE  HEIDKLBERG  PRESS 
Phii^adei.phia,  Pa. 


COPYRIGHT,    IS98 
BY  THE   SUNDAY   SCHOOL  BOARD   OF   THE   REFORMED   CHURCH 


PREFACE. 

The  Reformation  of  the  Sixteenth  Century  is  the 
principal  source  of  our  civil  and  relioious  freedom. 
We  are  livings  in  the  era  which  it  inaugurated,  and 
are  moulded  by  its  influence.  For  this  reason  it 
deserves  to  be  studied  by  all  who  are  interested  in 
the  development  of  the  Church  and  State. 

The  author  has  not  ventured  to  write  a  history 
of  this  eventful  period.  He  has,  however,  made  it 
the  subject  of  many  lectures,  and  of  these  a  series 
is  here  presented.  Though  the  best  authorities 
have  been  consulted  and  freely  quoted,  the  general 
purpose  has  been  popular  rather  than  scholastic.  It 
has  not  been  deemed  necessary  to  burden  the  text 
with  proofs  and  references.  Of  the  work  of  the 
most  distinguished  leaders  of  the  Reformation  no 
more  than  a  brief  sketch  has  been  attempted  ;  but 
men  of  less  celebrity  have  been  assigned  to  the 
position  which  is  believed  to  be  their  due. 

It  will  be  observed  that  there  has  been  no  dispo- 
sition to  exalt  some  men  at  the  expense  of  others, 
and  that  subjects  of  controversy  have  not  been 
prominently  presented.  It  is  believed  that  calm 
and  dispassionate  study  of  the  lives  of  the  Reform- 
ers wall  prove  that  they  were  all  pervaded  by  a 
common  life  ;  and  that  though  their  errors  were 
numerous  their  purposes  w^ere  exalted.  When 
these  facts  are  fully  recognized,  prejudice  and  ex- 
clusiveness  must  pass  away  ;  and  in  the  fullest 
sense  of  the  prophecy,  there  will  be  one  fold  and 
one  Shepherd. 


269111 


HARMtR  U  PENGtar,  PRS.,  READING,  F 


CONTENTS. 
I. 

THE  DAWN  OK  THE  REFORMATION. 

(JOHN    HUSS). 

Introduction — The  Dark  Ages — Coming  of  the  Dawn — Wald- 
enscs — Conser\'atives  and  Liberals — Mystics  and  Human- 
ists— The  Secularization  of  the  Church.  John  Huss,  a 
national  leader — Disciple  of  Wycliffe — The  Babylonish 
Captivity — Reformatory  Councils — Pope  John  XXIII. — 
Council  of  Constance — Citation  of  Huss — Condemnation 
and  death — The  Hussite  wars. 

11. 

THE  GLORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

(martin   IvUTHER). 

Luther's  earl 3^  life  —  Education  —  Monastic  vows  —  Spiritual 
struggles — Journey  to  Rome — Frederick  of  Saxony — In- 
dulgences —  Theses  —  Conflicts — Excommunication — Burn- 
ing of  the  Bull — Melancthon  —  Luther  at  Worms — The 
Wartburg  —  Carlstadt  —  Zwickan  Prophets  —  Controversy 
with  Henry  VIII. — Luther's  marriage — Table  Talk — Per- 
sonal character — Augsburg  Confession — Last  years  and 
death. 

III. 

THE  FREE  CHURCH  IN  THE  FREE  STATE. 

(U1.RIC  ZWING1.1). 

Switzerland  the  refuge  of  the  oppressed — Mercenary  system — 
Zwingli's  Birth — Wildhaus — Early  training — Scholarship — 
Glarus — Einsiedlen  —  Relations  to  Erasmus — Patriotism — 
Pastorate  in  Zurich  —  Leo  Juda  —  Domestic  relations — 
Anabaptists  —  Marburg  Conference  —  Organization  of  the 
churches — Battle  of  Cappel — Zwingli's  death. 


vi  CONTENTS. 

IV. 
THE  CHURCH  UNDER  THE  CROSS. 

(JOHN   CAI^VIN). 

Geneva — Confederates  and  Mamelukes — William  Farel — Cal- 
vin's early  years— Protestantism  in  France — Calvin's  Con- 
version— His  Flight — "The  Institutes" — Marriage — Labors 
in  Geneva — Servetus — Theodore  Beza — Death  of  Calvin — 
The  Huguenots— Guises  and  Bourbons — Jeanne  d'Albret — 
Coligni — "St.  Bartholomew" — Henry  of  Navarre — Bdict 
of  Nantes. 

V. 

THE  STRUGGLE  OF  THE  CREEDS. 

(CRANMER   AND   KNOX). 

The  Oxford  Reformers — Political  elements — Henry  VIII.  of 
England — Thomas  Cranmer — Constrained  by  royal  author- 
ity— Under  Edward  VI. — Relations  to  Continental  reform- 
ers— Common  Prayer — Martin  Bucer — Organization  of  the 
Church — Queen  Mary — Ridley  and  Latimer — Cranmer's 
death — Reign  of  Elizabeth — Puritans — The  Church  of  Scot- 
land— Patrick  Haniilton — George  Wishart — John  Knox,  the 
Reformer  of  Scotland — A  captive  in  France — Student  in 
Geneva — Conflicts  with  Queen  Mary  of  Scotland — Death  of 
Knox — A  comparison. 

VI. 

THE  THREEFOLD  CORD. 

(FREDERICK  III.,    OI.EVIANUS,    AND   URSINUS). 

Heidelberg— The  Palatinate  of  the  Rhine— Francis  Lambert- 
Philip  Melancthon— Frederick  III.— The  Sacramental  Con- 
troversy—  ' '  Erastianism' '  —  Caspar  Olevianus  —  Zacharias 
Ursinus — The  Heidelberg  Catechism — Heroic  defense — The 
Elector's  death— The  Catechism  in  Holland— Revolt  of  the 
Netherlands— Prince  of  Orange— Synod  of  Dort — Union 
movements  in  Germany — Pietism — Invasion  of  the  Palati- 
nate—The Great  Migration— Present  state  of  the  church. 


LEADERS  OFTHE  REFORMATION 


I. 
THE  DAWN    OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

JOHN    HUSS. 

THE  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century  was 
the  greatest  epoch  in  modern  history.  To 
regard  it  as  the  work  of  a  single  man,  or  of 
any  definite  body  of  men,  is  plainly  unhistorical. 
We  might  as  well  call  Napoleon  Bonaparte  the 
cause  of  the  French  Revolution  ;  or  assert  that 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  the  originator  of  the  civil 
war  in  America.  Like  every  other  great  historical 
movement,  the  Reformation  sprang  from  obscure 
sources  in  the  remote  past,  and  gathered  strength 
from  innumerable  tributaries,  until  at  last  it  be- 
came a  mighty  flood  whose  onward  flow  was  irresist- 
ible. 

The  period  immediately  preceding  the  Reforma- 
tion of  the  sixteenth  century  is  known  as  the  Mid- 
dle Ages  ;  or  more  properly,  on  account  of  its  his- 
toric unity,  as  the  Middle  Age — Ic  Moyen  age — 
*'das  Mittelalter ".  It  is  so  called  because  it  is 
supposed  to  stand  in  the  middle,  between  ancient 
and  modern  history.  In  round  numbers,  it  extends 
for  a  thousand  years  from  the  fifth  or  sixth  century 
to  the  fifteenth  or  sixteenth.      Secular  historians 


8         lea'd;e'Hs  of:\  t^^j^'^  r^  forma  tion. 

generally  regard  it  as  beginning  with  the  downfall 
of  the  western  Roman  empire  in  A.D.  476  and 
ending  with  the  Fall  of  Constantinople,  the  Inven- 
tion of  Printing,  the  Discovery  of  America,  or 
some  other  important  event  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  Ecclesiastical  writers  most  fre- 
quently begin  with  Gregory  the  Great  (about  A.  D. 
600)  and  conclude  with  the  Reformation.  His- 
tory, we  know,  is  an  organic  piocess  ;  and  it  is  im- 
possible to  draw  an  exact  line  of  separation  between 
its  several  periods  ;  but  every  age  has  its  decided 
characteristics,  and  familiarity  with  these  is  essen- 
tial to  our  comprehension  of  the  divine  life  in  its 
highest  developments. 

The  Middle  Ages  have  often  been  termed  ''the 
dark  ages";  but  it  is  Coleridge,  we  believe,  who 
asserts  that  they  are  "  dark  only  to  those  who  have 
not  light  enough  to  read  them".  Light  was 
always  struggling  with  darkness.  If  it  was  a 
period  of  ignorance  and  depression,  it  was  also  the 
time  of  great  inventions — of  the  beginnings  of 
modern  literature  and  science  ;  the  period  of  the 
planting  of  the  seeds  which  have  sprung  up  and 
brought  forth  the  flowers  and  fruit  in  which  we 
now  rejoice. 

In  order  that  we  may  comprehend  all  this  it  is 
necessary  to  remember  that  the  Middle  Ages  in- 
clude two  widely  contrasted  periods.  The  first  of 
these,  extending  to  the  Crusades  (A.D.  1096)  is  the 


JOHN  III  'SS.  9 

Period  of  Destruction  ;  tlie  second,  which  ends 
with  the  Reformation,  is  the  period  of  Reconstruc- 
tion. The  chief  events  of  the  first  period  are  the 
migration  of  nations,  the  rise  of  Mahonimedanism, 
the  repulse  of  the  Saracens,  the  revival  of  the 
Western  Roman  lunpire  under  Charlemagne,  the 
building  up  of  monastic  orders,  and  the  establish- 
ment of  the  feudal  system.  During  this  period  it 
seemed  to  be  the  purpose  of  most  men  to  destroy 
as  much  as  they  possibly  could  ;  though  here  and 
there  a  solitary  ruler,  like  Theodoric  or  Charle- 
magne, or  an  unusually  intelligent  abbot  or  prior, 
made  an  effort  for  the  intellectual  advancement  of 
his  people.  It  was  the  power  of  Christian  life, 
however  obscured  by  superstition,  that  saved  the 
world  from  relapsing  into  absolute  barbarism. 

The  next  four  centuries — the  period  of  Recon- 
struction— exhibit  a  reaction  in  favor  of  law  and 
order ;  the  crusades  gave  birth  to  chivalry,  modern 
languages  came  into  existence,  and  monarchies 
were  consolidated.  It  was,  in  fact,  the  period  of 
the  Dawn  of  the  Reformation. 

We  regard  the  latter  period  v/ith  profound  interest 
and  sympathy,  and  do  not  hold  with  those  who 
suppose  that  the  church  of  the  centuries  imme- 
diately preceding  the  Reformation  w^as  utterly 
sunken  and  degraded.  It  was  the  coming  of  the 
dawn  when  men  began  to  open  their  eyes  and  re- 
joice  in    the   light.      We   refuse    to   renounce    our 


lO  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

patrimony  in  English  literature  ;  we  boast  that 
Chaucer  and  Spenser,  and  Shakspeare  are  ours, 
though  they  sleep  in  a  foreign  land  ;  may  we  not 
with  equal  propriety  claim  a  share  in  Dante  and 
Petrarch,  in  Gerson  and  D'Ailly,  in  Colet  and 
Erasmus?  If  the  church  of  modern  times  has 
taken  up  the  best  life  of  the  period  which  preceded 
it,  may  we  not  with  sympathetic  throbbings  feel 
the  power  of  that  life,  as  it  beat  in  the  hearts  of 
the  men  who  lived  four  hundred  years  ago  ?  Is  it 
not  well  to  appreciate  the  continuity  of  Christ's 
promise  ;  and  when  history  recalls  the  learning, 
the  piety,  the  self-sacrifice  of  the  past,  to  exclaim 
with  rapturous  devotion  :  "This  too,  thank  God, 
is  mine  "? 

We  do  not  look  for  the  main  sources  of  the  Re- 
formation among  the  mediaeval  sects.  These  had 
no  doubt  an  important  work  to  do,  as  forerunners 
of  a  new  era  ;  but  in  most  instances  they  labored 
in  obscure  places,  and  exerted  but  little  influence 
on  the  church  and  the  world.  Some  of  them — 
such  as  the  Cathari,  the  Bulgari,  and  the  Albi- 
genses — were  probably  heretical.  Others,  like  the 
Waldenses,  were  comparatively  pure  in  doctrine 
and  morals ;  but  their  influence  was  quiet  and 
sometimes  almost  imperceptible.  Indeed,  it  may 
be  doubted  whether  the  Waldenses,  before  the  days 
of  the  Reformation,  could  properly  be  called  a  sect. 
They  served  the  Lord  in   secret,   and  rarely  ven- 


JOHN  HOSS.  1 1 

tured  to  offer  a  public  protest.  On  this  account 
they  may,  perhaps,  be  regarded  as  a  threat  secret 
society,  whose  members  recognized  each  oilier  by 
signs,  rather  than  as  a  religious  denomination  in 
the  modern  sense  of  the  term.  Their  organization 
is  said  to  have  been  so  extensive  that  a  member 
might  leave  Piedmont  on  foot,  and,  traveling 
through  Switzerland  and  down  the  Rhine,  could 
lodge  every  night  with  a  brother  of  his  faith  until 
he  reached  Holland,  whence  he  could  sail  to  Eng- 
land and  there  be  sure  of  similar  entertainment. 

That  the  Waldenses,  the  "  Friends  of  God",  and 
similar  organizations  accomplished  a  great  work  in 
preparing  the  way  for  the  Reformation  we  do  not 
presume  to  deny  ;   but  the  religious  movement  of 
the  sixteenth  century  was  too  great  to  be  derived      \ 
from  comparatively  obscure  sources.      It  must  be      1 
remembered  that  in  the  church  of  Rome  itself  there      I 
were  two  distinct  tendencies  which  might  have  been      i 
termed    "Liberal"    and    ''Conservative".       The      \ 
former  was  represented   by  the  party  of  progress      / 
which  rejoiced  in  the  light  that  was  beginning  to      ; 
break  over  the  world  ;  the  latter  was  narrow  and 
bigoted,  clinging  to  a  mass  of  mediaeval  lumber,  and 
often  substituting  heathenish  superstitions  for  Chris- 
tian faith. 

The  Liberal  party  was  already  on  the  way  that 
finally  led  to  the  great  Reformation.  Though  it 
might  be  regarded  as  including  all  who  cherished 


12  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

aspirations  for  a  higher  life  it  was   evident  at  a 
glance  that  the  views  of  its  members  were  neither 
clear  nor  harmonious.     Among  them   were  many  \ 
diflferent  groups,  or  companies,  which  had  little  in  \ 
common,  except  dissatisfaction  with  existing  con-   i 
ditions.      Most  intelligent  w^ere  the   Humanists,   1 
who  were  full  of  enthusiasm  for  Greek  and  Roman  / 
literature  and  art.      Many  of  these  were  at  heart  in-  1 
fidels,    who    spoke    of    "the    immortal    gods"    as  \ 
though  they  actually  believed  in  them,  and  did  not  ] 
hesitate  to  declare  the  church  an  obstacle  to  the 
higher  development  of  civilization.      At  the  oppo- 
site extreme  stood  the  Mystics — men  like  Master 
Eckhart,  John  Tauler,   and  Thomas  a  Kempis — 
who    had    turned    away    with    disgust    from    the 
scholastic    controversies    concerning    Nominalism 
and  Realism,  holding  that  pious  contemplation  is 
better  than  all  knowledge.      That  some  of  them  fell 
into  pantheism  is  not  to  be  doubted  ;  but  compared 
with  the  dry  teachings  of  the  scholastics  their  writ- 
ings are  a  beautiful  garden.      The  authorities  of  the 
church  regarded  them  with  suspicion,  but  as  they 
rarely    taught    doctrine    it    was    difficult    to    find 
grounds  for  their  condemnation. 

In  one  thing  the  lyiberalists  agreed,  and  that  was 
the  necessity  of  a  speedy  reformation  of  the  church. 
From  all  nations  there  went  up  a  cry  for  a  reforma- 
tio 171  capite  et  inembris.  That  the  church  had  be- 
come thoroughl}^  secularized  was  evident   to   all. 


JOHN  IIUSS.  1 3 

The  papacy  was  the  prey  of  desif^iiing  Italian 
princes  ;  simony  was  almost  universal — bishoprics 
were  bought  and  sold  ;  monasteries  had  become 
hotbeds  of  corruption  ;  and  the  populace  wor- 
shipped images  under  the  impression  that  they 
were  a  real  manifestation  of  the  supernatural  beings 
which  they  represented.  Against  all  this  the  Lib- 
erals protested  as  decidedly  as  did  the  Protestants 
of  the  succeeding  century  ;  but  they  were  never 
ready  to  take  decisive  action,  and  dreaded  above 
all  things  the  imputation  of  heresy.  Hence  it 
happened,  in  more  than  a  single  instance,  that 
when  one  of  their  number — more  intelligent  and 
adventurous  than  the  rest — advanced  more  rapidly 
than  his  associates,  they  were  the  first  to  cry  out 
"  Ho,  there !  Stop  him  !  We  do  not  go  as  far  as 
this  man  goes.     He  is  a  heretic  ". 

More  than  one  of  the  pioneers  was  condemned  at 
the  instance  of  men  who  had  been  his  earlier  asso- 
ciates ;  but  even  in  such  instances  the  blood  of  the 
martyrs  was  the  seed  of  the  church.  Where  one 
fell  a  hundred  appeared  to  take  his  place  ;  and  with 
every  onward  step  the  army  of  progress  grew  bolder 
and  more  determined.  They  had  no  thought  ot 
separating  from  the  church  of  Rome  ;  but  the  time 
came  at  last  when  they  were  forced  out  of  it.  The 
majority — the  party  of  reaction,  the  mediaeval 
party — would  not  yield  an  iota  to  the  demands  oi 
progress  ;  and  the  most  intelligent  members  of  the 


14  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

church  were  compelled  to  assume  the  position  of 
independent  protest  which  finally  gave  them  the 
name  of  Protestants.  It  is  in  this  great  historical 
movement,  rather  than  in  the  obscure  sects  of  the 
middle  ages,  that  we  seek  for  the  source  of  our 
evangelical  Protestant  Christianity. 

In  further  illustration  of  our  theme  we  direct 
your  attention  to  John  Huss,  the  Reformer  and 
martyr  of  Bohemia.  In  some  respects,  it  is  true, 
the  story  may  prove  less  interesting  than  those  of 
later  date.  There  are  no  legends  to  relate,  like 
those  which  elsewhere  twine  like  ivy  around  the 
ruins  of  the  past.  Least  of  all  can  we  expect  to  be 
cheered  by  the  genial  glow  of  humor,  for  the  days 
were  hard  and  cold.  The  scene  is  far  distant,  and 
the  actors  appear  but  indistinctly  through  the  mists 
of  ages.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  fearful  tragedy  that  gave 
rise  to  a  series  of  wars  which  for  merciless  horror 
and  pure  atrocity  are  hardly  equalled  in  the  history 
of  Europe. 

John  Huss  was  born  in  the  village  of  Hussinecs, 
in  Bohemia.  The  year  of  his  birth  is  not  quite 
certain,  different  authorities  varying  between  1369 
and  1373.  He  is  known  to  have  perished  on  his 
birthday,  July  6,  141 5  ;  and  recent  Bohemian  writers 
declare  that  the  year  1369  has  been  authenticated 
by  researches  in  the  national  archives  as  the  year 
of  his  birth.  His  forefathers  were  poor,  and  it  does 
not  seem  likely  that  they  had  a  surname.     Until 


JOHN  HfLSS.  15 

his  26th  year  our  hero  called  himself  Jolm  of  Huss- 
inecs,  after  his  birthplace  ;  but  he  subsequently 
dropped  the  latter  part  of  the  name,  ]>ro1)a])ly  for  the 
sake  of  euphony.  It  was  just  becoming  usual  to 
adopt  a  surname,  and  John  probably  thought  that  in 
such  matters  his  own  taste  was  the  supreme  arbiter. 

Concerning  his  early  education  little  is  known  ; 
but  it  is  probable  that  he  attended  the  Latin  school 
of  his  native  village.  These  Latin  schools  were 
conducted  by  the  parish  priest,  and  were  primarily 
intended  to  teach  boys  enough  Latin  to  enable  them 
to  assist  in  serving  the  mass.  For  this  purpose 
very  little  was  needed,  as  the  priest  himself  had 
often  but  a  vague  idea  of  the  meaning  of  his  words, 
and  the  people  did  not  care  whether  he  said  sump- 
sinius  or  viinnpsi))ms. 

How  Huss  was  prepared  for  the  university  we  do 
not  know  ;  probably  little  was  required,  except 
some  facility  in  reading  Latin.  He  became  secre- 
tary to  one  of  the  professors  at  the  university  of 
Prague,  and  his  office  no  doubt  included  brushing 
coats  as  well  as  writing  letters.  There  are  stories 
concerning  his  proficiency  which  have  apparently 
been  exaggerated,  for  there  is  nothing  to  show  that 
he  ever  went  beyond  the  ordinary  curriculum.  In 
fact,  the  records  are  said  to  show  that  his  grade 
placed  him  exactly  in  the  middle  of  his  class  ;  so 
that  he  had  no  cause  to  be  exalted  or  humiliated. 
In  later  life  he  is  said  to  have  had  some  knowledge 


1 6  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION, 

of  Greek  and  Hebrew  ;  but  this  learning  may  have 
been  acquired  by  post-graduate  study.  His  man- 
ners are  said  to  have  been  naturally  courteous,  and 
he  soon  gained  many  influential  friends.  Without 
being  exactly  handsome  he  had  refined  features  and 
a  keen  eye  ;  and  his  general  appearance  conveyed 
the  impression  of  being  what  Westerners  call 
"quick  on  the  trigger".  Above  all  he  possessed 
in  a  remarkable  degree  the  gift  of  eloquence,  so  that 
his  words  sounded  like  music  and  went  straight  to 
the  heart.  It  was  this  gift  that  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  his  superiors,  and  made  him  even  in  his 
student  days  an  idol  of  the  national  Bohemian 
party. 

Bohemia,  we  know,  is  generally  regarded  as  one 
of  the  provinces  of  Austria  ;  but  its  people  insist 
that  it  is  an  ancient  kingdom,  of  vastly  more  his- 
toric importance  than  the  original  arch-duchy  of 
Austria  itself  Though  Bohemia  stretches  west- 
ward, like  a  great  peninsula  between  Saxony  and 
Bavaria,  until  it  almost  reaches  the  heart  of  Ger- 
many, it  is  not  really  a  German  country.  Nearly 
two-thirds  of  its  population,  which  is  estimated  at 
five  millions,  are  of  Slavonic  race,  speaking  a  lan- 
guage which  is  known  as  Czech.  Here,  for  more 
than  a  thousand  years,  the  Teuton  and  the  Slav 
have  struggled  for  supremacy,  and  many  are  the 
battles  which  they  have  fought  with  sword  and  pen. 
Politically  the  Germans  have  proved  stronger  than 


joi/N  J/ ess  I- 

the  Czeclis,  but  thcN-  liavc  not  ])ccii  able  to  (Tcrinan- 
izc  IJolieniia.      Invasions  there   have  been   which, 
like  the  ocean  forcini^  its  way  into  tlie  estuary  of  a 
mighty  river,  were  for  a  time  irresistible  ;  but  when 
the  tide  went  down  the  stream  flowed  on  as  it  had 
done  before.      Recently  there  has   been  a  kind  of 
Bohemian    renaissance ;    and    since    Hungary    has 
gained  a  position  in  the  empire  equal  to  that  of 
Austria,  Bohemia  insists  on  its  ancient  privileges 
and  demands  similar  recognition.      These  local  con- 
ditions may  appear  foreign  to  our  theme  ;  but  they 
enable  us  to  appreciate  the  position  of  the  man  who 
aspired  to  be  not  only  the  reformer  of  the  church 
but  the  saviour  of  Bohemia. 

The  early  career  of  John  Huss  was  uniformly 
brilliant  and  successful.  In  1393  he  was  graduated 
a  Bachelor  of  Arts,  and  three  years  later  received 
the  degree  of  Master,  very  much  as  he  might  have 
done  four  hundred  years  later  in  an  American 
college.  He  probably  served  as  Tutor  for  a  few 
years,  as  was  usual  in  those  days,  and  in  1400  be- 
came a  regular  professor.  At  the  same  time  he 
served  as  preacher  at  the  Bethlehem  chapel,  and 
received  the  appointment  of  confessor  to  Sophie 
of  Bavaria,  wife  of  Winceslaus,  king  of  Bohemia. 
In  the  succeeding  year  he  was  promoted  to  the 
office  of  Dean  of  the  Theological  Faculty,  and  in 
1409  became  Rector  Magnijicus  of  the  university 
of  Prague.      It  w^as  a  grand  position  for  a  man  of 


1 8  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

forty,  in  full  possession  of  all  his  powers — a  man 
whom  a  nation  was  proud  to  recognize  as  its  chief. 
Many  a  man,  under  similar  circumstances,  would 
have  supposed  himself  to  have  reached  the  summit 
of  his  am^bition  ;  and  might  thereafter  have  taken 
his  othnn  cum  dig7iitate^  leaving  the  management 
of  the  university  to  the  deans  of  the  several  facul- 
ties, or,  possibly,  when  a  vacancy  occurred,  watch- 
ing his  chance  to  be  made  archbishop  of  Prague. 

Huss,  however,  was  not  of  this  type.  He  was  of 
an  active  nature  ;  energetic  and  often  imprudent, 
he  seems  to  have  sought  obstacles  in  order  to  over- 
come them.  Even  at  this  early  date  his  piety  was 
conspicuous.  He  advised  the  students  to  make  the 
Bible  their  only  vade  7necuvi  ;  and  boldly  declared 
that  he  had  found  in  it  many  things  which  did  not 
agree  with  the  teaching  of  the  popes. 

The  university  of  Prague  was  at  this  time  at  the 
summit  of  its  glory.  It  was  the  only  university  in 
the  north  of  continental  Europe,  and  was  attended 
by  several  thousand  students,  some  of  whom  came 
from  distant  England.  Its  government  was  in 
many  respects  peculiar.  The  institution  was  divi- 
ded into  four  sections,  representing  four  countries — 
Saxony,  Poland,  Bavaria,  and  Bohemia — and  each 
section  had  one  vote  in  the  general  management. 
By  this  arrangement  the  Germans  had  practically 
three  votes — for  Poland  was  regarded  as  German — 
and  the  Bohemians   had  but  one.      Suddenly  the 


JOHN  IIUSS.  I  9 

Emperor  Winceslaus,  in  the  most  arl^lrarv  manner 
clianq;ed  the  arrangement,  giving  three  votes  to  tlie 
Bohemians  and  leaving  bnt  one  to  the  Germans. 
Winceslaus,  it  should  be  remembered,  was  both 
King  of  Bohemia  and  Emperor  of  Germany.  In 
Germany  he  had  very  little  influence  ;  but  he  re- 
sented his  unpopularity  and  did  all  in  his  power  to 
advance  the  interests  of  his  hereditary  kingdom. 
At  his  instance  Huss  was  chosen  Rector  of  the  uni- 
versity, because  he  was  a  leader  of  the  Czechs  ; 
and  the  Germans,  therefore,  regarded  him  with  ill- 
concealed  aversion.  It  was  at  this  time  that  he 
began  to  express  himself  concerning  the  faith  and 
practice  of  the  church  with  a  degree  of  boldness 
that  enabled  his  enemies  to  injure  him  at  a  vital 
point.  Personally  he  claimed  to  be  impartial  in  the 
political  conflict  ;  but  he  unconsciously  revealed 
his  position  by  remarking  in  one  of  his  letters,  that 
he  '*  had  always  preferred  a  good  German  to  a  bad 
Bohemian  ".  The  excitement  aroused  on  the  two 
grounds  of  opposition — political  and  religious — be- 
came so  intense  and  uncontrollable,  that  before  the 
close  of  the  first  year  of  his  rectorate  the  German 
professors  and  students  withdrew  in  a  body  from 
the  university  of  Prague  and  founded  the  univer- 
sity of  Leipsic. 

At  this  time  occurred  the  change  in  the  theologic 
position  of  Huss  which  determined  the  character  of 
his  subsequent  career.      English  students  had  lent 


20  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

him  the  writings  of  John  Wycliflfe,  canon  of  lyUt- 
terworth,  who  had  died  in  1384.  Some  writers 
assert  that  they  were  given  him  by  his  intimate 
friend  and  subsequent  fellow-martyr,  Jerome  of 
Prague,  but  this  appears  improbable.  It  is  certain 
that  Huss  read  these  books  with  sympathy  and  en- 
thusiasm, and  that  he  was  converted  by  them.  He 
himself  always  asserted  that  at  the  time  when  he 
undertook  to  study  the  writings  of  Wycliffe  they 
were  accompanied  by  a  certificate  from  the  univer- 
sity of  Oxford,  to  the  effect  that  they  had  been  ex- 
amined and  found  orthodox ;  and  there  has  been 
much  controversy  whether  the  endorsement  was 
genuine  or  a  forgery.  As  the  document  has  been 
lost  the  question  will  probably  never  be  settled. 

If  we  had  undertaken  to  discuss  the  career  of 
Wycliffe  there  would  certainly  be  enough  to  say  ; 
but  our  theme  admits  but  a  few  references  to  "  the 
morning-star  of  the  Reformation  ".  That  he  was 
one  of  the  greatest  men  of  his  age  cannot  be 
doubted.  His  learning  and  ability  were  beyond  all 
dispute.  With  undaunted  courage  he  attacked  the 
corruption  of  the  church  of  Rome  ;  and  gained  the 
undying  hatred  of  the  priesthood  by  declaring  that 
the  church  had  no  right  to  hold  property  that  was 
devoted  solely  to  secular  uses.  Neander  thinks  he 
went  too  far  in  this  direction  ;  but  it  was  chiefly  on 
this  ground  that  he  was  supported  by  King  Edward 
III.,  who  was  jealous  of  the  wealth  of  the  church. 


Jl)fIN  IIUSS.  21 

WycHfTe's  words  have  a  strangely  moderu  sound. 
Though  lie  liad  not  grasped  the  doctrine  of  justifi- 
cation by  faith,  he  certainly  recognized  the  Scrip- 
tures as  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice.  On 
the  subject  of  predestination  he  at  first  followed  St. 
Augustine,  but  subsequently  went  far  beyond  him. 
He  defined  the  church  as  consisting  only  of  tliose 
who  are  predestinated  to  eternal  life  ;  and  on  this 
ground  he  concluded  that  the  external  organization 
of  the  church  is  at  least  unnecessary.  From  this 
position  there  was  but  a  step  to  public  opposition, 
and  Wvcliffe  did  not  hesitate  to  take  it.  Sinele 
handed  he  fought  the  monastic  orders,  and  roused 
the  people  to  devotion  for  their  king.  Wycliffe 
even  trained  and  sent  out  lay  preachers,  to  preach 
the  Gospel  to  the  poor.  These  men  were  known 
as  Ivollards,  though  the  term  had  been  applied  to 
religious  people  at  an  earlier  date.  WycliflTe  was 
content  to  remain  a  simple  parish  priest,  and  thus 
escaped  many  of  the  penalties  of  greatness. 
Charges  were  brought  against  him,  but  they  re- 
mained undecided  and  he  was  suflfered  to  die  in 
peace.  Thirty  years  after  his  death  his  enemies,  at 
the  council  of  Constance,  actually  succeeded  in 
securing  his  condemnation,  and  his  poor  old  bones 
were  taken  from  the  grave  and  burnt  and  the  ashes 
thrown  into  the  river  Avon.      Hence  a  poet  has  said  : 

"  The  Avon  to  the  Severn  runs, 
And  Severn  to  the  sea  ; 
And  Wyclifie's  dust  shall  spread  abroad 
Wide  as  the  waters  be." 


N 


22  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

The  work  of  WyclifFe  exerted  but  little  immedi- 
ate influence  on  the  social  life  of  England.  It 
lingered  long  in  obscure  places,  but  its  power  was 
broken  in  a  single  generation.  Yet,  have  we  not 
heard  of  conflagrations  where  a  single  burning 
brand  was  borne  by  the  storm  to  some  distant  place 
where  it  blazed  long  after  the  earlier  flames  had 
been  extinguished?  So  the  doctrine  of  Wycliflfe/ 
was  carried  to  Bohemia,  taken  up  by  Huss,  and 
throuo:h  his  instrumentality  made  for  a  time  the 
religfion  of  a  nation. 

The  doctrines  of  Huss  do  not  seem  to  have  varied 
from  those  of  Wycliffe  to  any  appreciable  extent. 
He  had  his  Bohemian  predecessors,  it  is  true — men 
like  Matthias  of  Janow  and  John  of  Stekno — who 
had  exposed  the  hypocrisy  and  wickedness  of  the 
monks  ;  but  these  were  moral  rather  than  doctrinal 
reformers.  It  was  the  main  purpose  of  Huss  to 
popularize  the  writings  of  Wycliffe  and  to  preach 
the  Gospel  which  they  revealed.  In  one  of  his  ser- 
mons he  says  :  "  Bohemians  are  now  declared  to  be 
heretics — that  sacred  Bohemian  nation  of  which  a 
proverb  declares,  '  No  Bohemian  can  be  a  heretic '. 
Here  within  this  city,  they  say  there  are  countless 
heretics,  whom  they  term  Wy  cliff  is  ts.  As  for  me  I 
confess  before  you  that  I  have  read  and  studied  the 
works  of  Alaster  John  Wycliffe,  and  that  I  have 
learned  from  them  much  that  is  good.  Truly,  not 
everything  I  have  read  is  of  the  same  weight  with 


JOHN  I  less.  23 

ine  as  the  Gospel,  for  only  to  the  Holy  vScriptures 
will  I  maintain  snch  reverent  obedience  ;  but  why 
should  we  not  study  the  books  of  WyclifTe  in 
which  are  written  thousands  of  sacred  truths  ". 

Ivet  us  seek  to  become  familiar  with  the  times  in 
which  Huss  lived  and  labored,  in  order  that  we  may 
comprehend  his  message  and  his  fate.  It  was  the 
period  of  the  deepest  humiliation  of  the  church. 
In  1309,  Pope  Clement  V.,  a  Frenchman,  had  re- 
moved the  seat  of  the  papacy  from  Rome  to 
Avignon  in  France  ;  and  he  and  his  immediate  suc- 
cessors were  little  more  than  tools  of  the  French 
king.  This  period  is  called  "  the  Babylonish  cap- 
tivity "  because,  like  the  captivity  of  ancient 
Israel,  it  lasted  about  seventy  years.  The  papal 
court  became  scandalously  corrupt,  so  that  it  was 
said  that  when  the  papacy  was  removed  from  Rome 
the  moral  law  was  suspended.  The  only  thing 
that  can  be  said  in  its  behalf  is  that  it  encoura^^ed 
literature,  and  that  its  retirement  to  the  beautiful 
land  of  Provence  had  a  tendency  to  develop  a  love 
of  the  beautiful.  It  was  the  age  of  Petrarch  and 
Boccaccio,  of  the  beginnings  of  Italian  literature. 
The  church  at  large  was,  however,  disgusted  with 
the  looseness  of  life  which  prevailed  in  Avignon, 
and  earnestly  insisted  that  the  pope  should  return 
to  Rome.  When  John  XXII.  was  elected  pope  he 
promised  that  the  first  time  he  mounted  a  beast  it 
should  be  to  ride  to  Rome,  but  he  saved  his  con- 


24 


LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


science  by  never  mounting  a  beast.  No  wonder 
that  the  popes  did  not  desire  to  live  in  the  city  of 
St.  Peter.  It  was  torn  by  contending  factions  ;  the 
Orsini  and  Colonna  fought  pitched  battles  in  its 
streets ;  and  afterwards  Rienzi,  "  the  last  of  the 
tribunes",  actually  attempted  to  found  a  new  re- 
ligion, and  is  said  to  have  declared  himself  "the 
representative  and  successor  of  the  Holy  Spirit". 
Durinsr  these  conflicts  Rome  had  ceased  to  be  a  de- 
sirable  residence  ;  the  sewers  had  been  choked  up, 
the  campania  had  encroached  on  the  city,  and  the 
place  had  become  malarious  be}'ond  anything  pre- 
viously known.  This,  we  remerj^ber  was  the  period 
of  the  great  plague — "  the  black  death  " — of  which 
in  the  year  1348  one-third  of  the  people  of  France 
died.  Many  people  regarded  all  this  evil  as  the 
direct  consequence  of  the  sins  of  the  world,  of 
which  they  esteemed  the  pope's  removal  from  Rome 
as  the  greatest;  and  at  last  the  complaints  became  so 
loud  that  in  1378  the  pope  was  constrained  to  re- 
turn to  the  holy  city.  This  did  not  please  the 
French,  who  had  hitherto  managed  the  papacy 
pretty  much  as  they  pleased,  and  another  pope  w^as 
irregularly  chosen  who  reigned  in  Avignon.  This 
miserable  condition  continued  for  many  years,  and 
sometimes  there  were  no  less  than  three  men  who 
claimed  to  be  popes,  all  cursing  and  excommuni- 
cating each  other.  Some  of  the  universities  re- 
fused to  acknowledge  either  claimant,  and  demanded 


JO//X  i/f'ss.  25 

the  callintr  of  a  general  council  ;  and  John  Cicrson, 
the  most  learned  theologian  of  his  time,  laid  down 
the  principle  that  ''a  universal  council  is  superior 
to  the  pope''.  That  this  principle  is  not  in  accord- 
ance with  the  doctrine  of  the  infallihility  of  the 
pope  needs  hardly  be  stated. 

In  consequence  of  this  movement  for  a  reforma- 
tion three  great  councils  were  successively  held  at 
Pisa,  Constance,  and  Basel,  which  are  known  as 
Reformatory  Councils.  It  is  with  the  second  of 
these  councils  that  we  are  at  present  especially  con- 
cerned. 

When  we  speak  of  a  mediseval  council  it  must 
not  be  supposed  that  it  was  a  mere  meeting  of  min- 
isters and  elders,  continuing  a  week  or  two,  like  a 
modern  synod.  Imagine  a  company  of  several  thou- 
sand prelates  and  distinguished  theologians,  accom- 
panied by  their  secretaries  and  servants.  Princes 
were  present  as  interested  spectators,  as  w^ell  as  a 
great  multitude  of  purveyors  of  food  and  pleasure. 
A  council  was,  in  fact,  a  city  in  itself.  Those  who 
attended  it  came  prepared  to  remain  for  years,  if 
need  be,  and  some  of  the  bishops  actually  built 
houses  to  be  occupied  bv  them  durimr  their  attend- 
ance  on  the  council.  The  council  of  Constance 
occupied  less  time  than  several  similar  assemblies, 
though  it  remained  in  session  for  more  than  four 
years. 

The   most   important  business   that   claimed  the 


26  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION, 

attention  of  this  council  was  the  divided  condition 
of  the  papacy.  There  were  three  men  who  claimed 
to  be  pope,  of  whom  the  most  prominent  was  Bal- 
dassare  Cossa  v/ho  reigned  under  the  title  of  John 
XXIII.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  corsair  in  his 
youth  and  was  certainly  one  of  the  worst  of  his 
line  .  That  such  a  man  could  secure  an  election 
to  the  papal  chair  is  in  itself  an  abundant  proof  of 
the  wickedness  of  the  times. 

The  plans  of  pope  John  were  at  first  successful. 
His  enormous  wealth  enabled  him  to  purchase  the 
favor  ot  cardinals  and  universities  and  he  did  not 
doubt  that  he  could  control  a  general  council  and 
secure  recognition  as  the  only  legitimate  pope.  It 
happened,  however,  that  Ladislaus,  king  of  Naples, 
who  appears  to  have  no  fear  of  ecclesiastical  digni- 
ties, took  Rome  and  drove  the  pope  out  of  the  city. 
John's  wrath  knew  no  bounds,  and  he  actually 
called  upon  Christian  princes  to  conduct  a  crusade 
against  the  enemy  of  "the  Lord's  anointed",  but 
no  one  responded  to  his  invitation.  In  his  despera- 
tion he  then  appealed  to  the  emperor,  Sigismund, 
expressing  his  willingness  to  submit  the  question  at 
issue  to  a  general  council,  and  at  the  same  time 
authorized  its  convocation.  The  emperor  at  once 
convoked  the  council,  and  appointed  Constance,  in 
Germany,  as  the  place  of  meeting.  This  did  not 
suit  pope  John  at  all.     An  Italian  council  he  might 


(i)  Theodorus  Niemius.     Historia  de  Vita  Johannis  XXIII.,  p.  17. 


joiix  iirss.  27 

have  controlled,  but  a  meeting  in  Germany  was 
more  doubtful.  In  the  mean  time  King  Ladislaus 
died,  and  in  the  opinion  of  the  pope  the  chief 
reason  for  the  meeting  was  thus  removed.  To 
make  the  best  of  a  bad  bargian  he,  however,  was 
present  at  the  opening  of  the  council,  though  with 
many  misgivings  concerning  the  result.  Just  as  he 
entered  Constance  his  carriage  upset  in  the  snow  ; 
and,  as  he  lay  on  his  back  in  the  road  in  all  the 
splendor  of  his  papal  robes,  he  exclaimed  :  "  Here 
I  lie,  in  the  name  of  the  devil  !  Why  had  I  not 
sense  enough  to  remain  in  Bologna  ?" 

The  pope's  forebodings  were  not  groundless. 
At  the  first  meeting  of  the  council  he  w^as  permitted 
to  preside  ;  but  he  was  soon  requested  to  resign  the 
papacy  ;  and  when  he  refused  the  council  sum- 
marily deposed  him  and  the  two  other  claimants, 
and  elected  a  prince  of  the  great  Roman  house  of 
Colonna  who  afterwards  resigned  under  the  title  of 
Martin  V.  As  John  still  protested  the  council  im- 
prisoned him  until  he  agreed  to  submit  to  its 
decision.  He  finally  agreed  to  accept  the  second 
place  under  the  new  administration,  as  dean  of  the 
college  of  cardinals. 

The  council  of  Constance  did  some  good  work, 
but  it  was  mostly  in  the  line  of  discipline  and 
morals.  In  these  directions  it  went  as  far  as  it  w^as 
possible  to  go ;  and  in  the  opinion  of  some  people 
it  had  even  committed  the  sin  of  sacrilege  by  lay- 


28  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

ing  its  hands  on  the  Lord's  anointed.  For  this 
reason,  though  it  had  ventured  to  change  the 
external  organization  of  the  church,  it  wanted  all 
the  world  to  know  that  its  members  were  sound  in 
faith  and  doctrine.  It  was  not  a  safe  tribunal  for 
any  one  who  was  accused  of  heresy. 

Before  this  council  John  Huss  was  cited  to 
appear.  He  had  previously  been  condemned  by 
the  anti-pope,  Alexander  V. ;  but  the  Bohemians 
did  not  recognize  his  authority,  and,  indeed,  many 
of  them  refused  to  acknowledge  the  authority  of 
any  pope.  Some  of  the  professors  of  the  university, 
however,  turned  against  Huss,  because  he  said  that 
the  head  of  the  church  was  not  St.  Peter  but  Christ 
alone. 

The  Emperor  Winceslaus  had  by  this  time  re- 
signed his  ofBce  in  favor  of  his  brother  Sigismund, 
who  was  extremely  anxious  to  gain  the  favor  of  the 
Germans  and  of  the  court  of  Rome.  Heavy  clouds 
were  gathering  around  the  Reformer  of  Bohemia ; 
but  every  day  his  views  of  divine  truth  became 
brighter  and  clearer.  He  began  one  of  his  books 
by  saying  :  "  Ye  should  not  bum  the  wTitings  of 
heretics,  but  should  read  them  in  order  that  ye 
may  know  what  is  true  ".  The  sale  of  indulgences 
disgusted  his  mind,  as  it  afterwards  did  that  of 
Luther  ;  and  he  boldly  declared  that  the  church 
has  no  right  to  sell  its  treasures  of  grace,  and  that 
to  do  so  is  to  commit  the  sin  of  Simon  the  sorcerer. 


JOHN  iruss.  29 

He  was  chari^cd  with  disai;rcciiig  with  the  church 
ou  the  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  but  on  tliis 
subject  he  did  uot  go  as  far  as  the  Reformers  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  I  cannot  even  find  that  he  in- 
sisted on  giving  the  cup  to  the  laity,  which  his 
followers  afterwards  made  their  "shibboleth". 
Every  day,  however,  brought  more  light,  and  noth- 
ing afforded  him  more  pleasure  than  to  take  long 
journeys,  preaching  the  Gospel  daily  to  thousands 
of  people. 

When  Huss  was  cited  to  appear  before  the  coun- 
cil of  Constance  he  greatly  rejoiced.  Unacquainted 
with  the  treacherous  ways  of  southern  prelates,  he 
hoped  for  an  opportunity  to  declare  the  truth  be- 
fore the  whole  of  Christendom,  believing  in  the  in- 
nocence of  his  heart  that  the  truth,  as  he  was  able 
to  present  it,  need  only  be  heard  to  be  believed. 
The  emperor  gave  him  a  safe-conduct — a  pass 
which  promised  him  protection  and  security  during 
liis  visit  to  Constance.  The  danger  then  seemed 
reduced  to  a  minimum,  and  Huss  did  not  hesitate 
to  undertake  the  journey. 

It  is  true  that  he  seems  to  have  felt  a  premoni- 
tion of  evil.  He  made  his  will,  and  wrote  a  long 
letter  to  his  nephews,  to  whom  he  was  greatly 
attached  ;  "for  this",  he  said,  "  is  a  trying  time, 
and  none  should  enter  the  ministry  but  those  who 
are  willing  to  die  for  the  cause  of  truth".  It  was, 
indeed,  a  cruel,  trying  age,  when  men  were  burned 


30  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

at  the  stake  on  all  sorts  of  pretexts.  Two  mer- 
chants had  just  been  executed  in  Prague  for  adulter- 
ating some  saflfron  which  they  had  sold  in  the  mar- 
ket. On  this  occasion  Huss  said  :  "  If  I  am  to  be 
burned  I  desire  it  to  be  for  a  better  cause.  I  am 
willing  to  be  a  martyr  in  the  cause  of  truth". 

The  journey  to  Constance  had  all  the  appearance 
of  a  triumphal  procession.  Huss  was  accompanied 
by  four  imperial  knights  and  a  small  company  of 
adherents.  As  he  travelled  through  Germany  he 
was  greatly  surprised  to  find  that  national  prejudices 
had  lor  the  time  been  laid  aside,  and  that  at  every 
town  he  was  welcomed  by  enthusiastic  multitudes. 
This  only  shows  how  heavily  the  yoke  of  Rome 
rested  on  the  nation,  and  how  earnestly  the  world 
longed  for  the  day  of  its  deliverance. 

At  Constance  the  great  Bohemian  was  received 
with  many  marks  of  distinction.  For  a  month 
he  was  free,  and  he  was  evidently  gaining  influ- 
ence, when  his  enemies  proceeded  to  carry  out 
the  plans  which  they  had  laid  for  his  destruction. 
The  streets  were  placarded  with  denunciations  of 
Huss  as  a  heretic ;  it  was  announced  that  he  was 
about  to  escape  ;  and  in  contradiction  to  his  safe- 
conduct  he  was  seized  and  imprisoned.  When  he 
claimed  his  rights,  he  was  answered  with  the  hor- 
rible assertion  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  keep  faith 
with  heretics.  He  was  brought  before  the  council ; 
but  there  was  a  general  cry  of  "  Heretic  !"   and  he 


JOHN  IK  ss. 


31 


was  unable  to  speak  a  word.  At  the  solicitation 
of  prominent  liberals  he  was  afterwards  permitted 
to  reply  to  questions.  The  charges  against  him 
were  vague  and  contradictory,  the  principal  one 
being  that  he  had  taught  in  Bohemia  the  doctrines 
ofWycliffe.  The  prosecutors  were  afraid  to  enter 
minutely  into  questions  of  doctrine,  knowing  that 
there  was  hardly  a  question  on  which  they  were 
agreed.  Huss  was  accused  of  having  said  that  he 
appealed  from  the  council  to  Christ — as  though 
that  were  a  great  impiety.  When  he  was  charged 
with  having  said  that  "  if  he  had  not  appeared  wil- 
lingly the  council  could  not  have  compelled  him", 
an  old  Bohemian  nobleman  rose  to  his  feet  and  ex- 
claimed :  ''That  is  true!  There  are  a  hundred 
Bohemian  noblemen  who  would  have  been  proud 
to  receive  him  into  their  castles,  where  he  mieht 
have  remained  safe  from  all  his  enemies  ". 

The  trial  was  a  mere  form.  Thirty-nine  extracts 
from  his  writings  were  presented  and  he  was  re- 
quired to  retract  them  without  explanation  or  de- 
fense. Huss  replied  that  he  could  not  be  expected 
to  retract  until  the  falsity  of  his  statements  had 
been  shown.  He  insisted  that  these  garbled  ex- 
tracts represented  him  as  saying  things  which  he 
had  never  believed,  and  that  he  could  not  retract 
them  without  becoming  guilty  of  perjury.  Abun- 
dant promises  were  made  if  he  would  consent  to 
retract,  and  an  ingenious  formula  was  drawn  up  to 


32  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

overcome  his  scruples,  but  nothing  could  shake  his 
resolution.  His  conduct  throughout  was  calm  and 
dignified  ;  not  a  word  of  complaint  fell  from  his 
lips.  On  the  24th  of  June  his  books  were  publicly 
burned,  and  this,  as  Huss  well  understood,  was  but 
a  prelude  to  his  final  condemnation.  In  a  letter  to 
his  friends  in  Prague  he  said  :  "I  write  this  in 
prison  and  in  chains,  expecting  to-morrow  to  re- 
ceive sentence  of  death,  but  full  of  hope  in  God 
that  I  shall  not  swerve  from  the  truth,  nor  abjure 
errors  imputed  to  me  by  false  witnesses".  On  the  6th 
of  July,  14 1 5,  the  formal  act  of  condemnation  took 
place,  accompanied  by  the  foolish  ceremonies  which 
were  usual  on  such  occasions.  He  was  arrayed  in 
fantastic  garments,  solemnly  excommunicated,  and 
his  soul  formally  presented  to  the  devil  ;  but  Huss 
lifted  up  his  eyes  to  heaven  and  said  :  "  I  commend 
my  soul  to  its  Maker  and  Redeemer".  Then  the 
martyr  was  handed  over  to  the  secular  authorities 
and  led  away  to  be  executed,  while  the  council 
went  on  with  its  regular  business  as  if  nothing  had 
happened. 

The  place  of  execution  was  by  the  road-side,  a 
short  distance  from  the  town  of  Constance,  and  is 
now  marked  by  a  large  stone.  Here  the  victim 
was  tied  to  a  stake  and  the  faggots  piled  around 
him.  An  old  peasant  brought  a  few  sticks  and  laid 
them  on  the  pile,  hoping  to  gain  a  heavenly  rewaid 
by  contributing  to  the  burning  of  a  heretic.      When 


joiix  iirss.  33 

Huss  saw  this  he  smiled,  and  said  :  "  O  saiicla  sini- 
plicitas  r^  Once  more  urged  to  recant,  his  only 
reply  was  :  "  (jod  is  my  witness  that  I  have  never 
taught  what  false  witnesses  have  testified  against 
me.  He  knows  that  the  great  object  of  my  life  was 
to  convert  man  from  sin.  In  the  truth  of  that 
Gospel  which  I  have  written,  taught,  and  preached 
I  now  joyfully  die  ". 

On  the  final  scene  we  shall  not  dwell.  From 
the  midst  of  the  gloom  and  smoke  and  darkness 
there  came  a  single  cry  :  "  Kyvic  Elcison  P^  When 
all  was  over  some  one  gathered  up  a  handful  of 
ashes  and  cast  them  into  the  Rhine. 

In  the  history  of  the  church  and  the  world  there 
is  but  one  scene  which  is  more  terrible  than  this  ; 
and  yet  we  remember  that  those  who  described  it 
had  not  a  word  of  condemnalion  for  the  wicked 
men  who  condemned  the  righteous.  They  left  it 
all  to  God.  Shall  we  attempt  to  do  otherwise  ? 
Such  a  colossal  crime  is  its  own  terrific  condemna- 
tion. 

The  members  of  the  council  of  Constance  no 
doubt  supposed  that  they  had  not  only  secured 
peace  to  the  church  but  had  proclaimed  themselves 
the  guardians  of  ancient  orthodoxy.  That  they 
were  mistaken  need  hardly  be  said.  They  had  not 
counted  on  the  wrath  of  Bohemia,  robbed  of  her 
favorite  son.  No  people  had  ever  before  been  so 
deeply  stirred,  or  become  so  fully  engrossed  by  a 


34  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

wild  desire  for  vengeance.  Hitherto  kings  and 
nobles  had  made  war,  and  the  people  had  been  un- 
willingly driven  to  fight  the  battles  of  their  lords. 
Now  it  was  the  people  who  held  deliberative 
assemblies  and  forced  the  nobles  to  lead  them  to 
battle.  Priests  who  ventured  to  reflect  on  the 
memory  of  John  Huss  were  put  to  death  with  scant 
ceremony,  and  the  imperial  delegates  who  appeared 
before  the  national  council  were  thrown  out  of  the 
window.  Multitudes  that  had  hitherto  cared  very 
little  for  religious  questions  now  united  in  demand- 
ing instant  and  complete  separation  from  the  church 
of  Rome.  When,  one  year  later,  Jerome  of  Prague 
— who  had  gone  to  Constance  to  be  the  counsel  and 
adviser  of  John  Huss — was  also  burned  at  the  stake, 
the  friends  of  the  martyrs  held  a  meeting  and  made 
the  offering  of  the  cup  to  the  laity  in  the  sacrament 
of  the  eucharist  the  badge  and  purpose  of  their 
covenant.  On  the  death  of  Wenceslaus,  in  141 9, 
the  Hussites  refused  to  acknowledge  Sigismund  as 
his  successor,  and  chose  a  nobleman,  named  John 
Ziska,  to  be  their  leader  in  the  conflict  with  Rome 
and  the  empire. 

Ziska  was  a  remarkable,  and  withal  a  somewhat 
mysterious  personage.  Not  much  is  known  about 
him  personally,  except  that  he  was  very  ugly,  had 
but  one  eye  and  that  he  could  fight.  O,  how  he 
could  fight  !  I  am  not  fond  of  war,  I  deprecate  its 
horrors,  but  if  it  must  come,  and  in  a  just  cause,  I 


H)iiN  iiuss.  35 

love  a  miii^hty  warrior  before  the  Lord.  Not  once 
only  but  many  times  John  Ziska  with  his  Taborites 
beat  the  emperor,  the  German  ])rinces  and  the  cru- 
sade of  the  pope.  When  the  Hussite  general  was 
entirely  blinded  he  kept  on  fighting  and  beating 
his  enemies  as  he  had  done  before  ;  and  it  is  said, 
on  rather  doubtful  authority,  that  when  he  felt  that 
the  end  of  life  was  at  hand  he  gave  directions  that 
after  his  death  his  body  should  be  flayed  and  his 
skin  stretched  over  the  head  of  a  drum  ;  so  that 
when  the  drum  was  beat  his  voice  might  still  be 
heard  in  the  thick  of  the  battle.  What  a  grand 
old  barbarian  he  was  ! 

When  Ziska  died  many  of  his  friends  lost  cour- 
age, and  a  large  party  which  had  been  closely  at- 
tached to  him  called  themselves  "  The  Orphans". 
His  successor  Procopius,  who  had  been  a  priest  or 
monk,  however,  showed  himself  every  inch  a  sol- 
dier. He  conceived  the  idea  of  carrying  the  war 
into  the  enemy's  country  and  swept  northern  Ger- 
many with  the  besom  of  destruction. 

Procopius  fell  in  battle,  and  then  came  the  begin- 
ning of  the  end.  The  Hussites  were  divided  among 
themselves  ;  one  party  professed  themselves  ready 
to  be  reconciled  with  Rome  if  they  were  permitted 
to  receive  the  cup  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  were 
therefore  called  Calixtines,  from  calix^  a  cup  ;  the 
other  party  were  known  as  Taborites,  after  a  moun- 
tain where  they  had   held  their  earliest  important 


36  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORM  A  TION. 

meeting.  These  parties  quarreled,  and  now  Rome 
saw  her  opportunity.  The  pope  granted  to  Bohe- 
mia the  privilege  of  receiving  the  sacrament  in 
both  kinds,  and  thus  drove  a  wedge  through  the 
Hussite  ranks.  The  Taborites  still  resisted,  but 
were  utterly  defeated  at  Bohmischbrod,  in  1434, 
and  soon  afterwards  ceased  to  be  a  political  party. 
Persecutions  followed,  and  many  Bohemians  found 
a  refuge  in  other  countries,  especially  in  Switzer- 
land. The  Calixtines  soon  accommodated  them- 
selves to  the  state  of  affairs  and  became  Roman 
Catholics  ;  the  Taborites  grew  weaker  and  weaker, 
changed  their  name  to  "  Brethren  ",  and  finally, 
after  existing  for  many  years  as  the  so-called  "hid- 
den seed",  became  the  nucleus  of  the  Christian 
denomination  which  is  now  known  as  Moravians. 
In  the  sixteenth  century,  when  persecution  was 
most  intense,  many  Hussites  joined  the  Lutheran 
and  Reformed  churches,  and  there  is  still  in  Bohemia 
a  little  cluster  of  Protestant  congregations  which 
claims  to  be  descended  from  the  ancient  Hussites. 
Thus  it  may  appear  as  if  the  work  of  Huss  had 
reached  a  weak  and  impotent  conclusion  ;  but  this 
is  a  mistake.  Huss  died  for  truths  which  are  in- 
herent in  the  church  and  in  the  heart  of  man, 
though  they  were  for  a  time  suppressed  by  the 
tremendous  power  of  an  established  system.  By 
his  death,  no  less  than  by  his  life,  he  shows  forth 
the  truth  that  Protestantism  is  not  an  invention  of 


JOHN  iicss.  37 

the  sixteenth  century,  but  flows  from  the  profound- 
est  life  of  early  Christianity.  It  may  not  have  been 
approved  at  the  Vatican,  but  it  leads  back  to  Cal- 
vary. The  death  of  Huss  was  by  his  cotempora- 
ries  regarded  as  shameful,  but  it  had  a  glory  of  its 
own  ;  for 

"  Whether  within  the  duugeon  deep, 
Or  in  the  battle's  van, 
The  noblest  place  lor  man  to  die 
Is  where  he  dies  for  man.', 

The  Hussite  wars  were  cruel — almost  barbarous 
— but  they  were  not  failures.  It  would  be  easy  to 
show  how  in  a  negative  way  they  made  the  great 
Reformation  possible.  If  Ziska  and  Procopius  had 
not  shaken  the  power  of  the  church  and  empire, 
Luther  would  probably  have  been  burnt  at  Worms. 

We  do  not  bring  a  railing  accusation  against  the 
church  of  Rome.  The  world  has  greatly  changed 
since  the  days  of  Huss  and  Wycliffe,  and  it  would 
be  folly  to  treat  of  the  events  of  their  lives  as  if 
they  had  happened  yesterday.  But  we  venture  to 
say,  that  Rome  is  no  less  indebted  to  John  Huss 
than  are  the  Protestant  churches.  He  died  for 
truth  and  purity  ;  for  freedom  of  speech  and  liberty 
of  conscience.  ''  The  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the 
seed  of  the  church";  and  the  precious  seed  sowed 
at  Constance,  though  frost-bitten,  never  died  ;  and 
is  now  bearing  the  glorious  fruit  in  which  the 
world  rejoices. 


II. 

THE  GLORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

MARTIN    LUTHER. 

ARTIN  LUTHER  is  the  representative  Ger- 


M 


man  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Without 
studying  the  century  you  cannot  under- 
stand his  career  ;  without  familiarity  with  his 
career  you  cannot  comprehend  his  age.  He  does 
not  represent  the  classes  but  the  masses.  He  was 
not  skilled  in  the  ways  of  courts  ;  he  had  not  the 
literary  culture  of  the  leaders  of  the  renaissance ; 
but  by  the  power  of  consecrated  genius  he  became 
the  spokesman  of  the  silent  millions — the  leader  of 
the  greatest  religious  and  social  movement  in  the 
history  of  the  world.  When  we  read  his  books  we 
are  at  first  repelled  by  their  peculiarities  and  then 
subdued  by  their  power.  "  It  is",  to  use  the  figure 
employed  in  another  connection  by  the  philosopher 
Hegel,  ''as  if  an  archangel  were  attempting  to  re- 
produce the  melodies  of  heaven  on  an  imperfect 
human  instrument — the  theme  is  glorious  but  the 
execution  is  full  of  discords  ".  No  man  of  his  cen- 
tury was  so  intensely  hated,  and  historians  are  still 
kept  busy  in  refuting  the  falsehoods  of  that  lying 
age ;  no  man  in  modern  history  has  been  so 
extravagantly  praised.  Somewhere  between  these 
extremes  the  truth  must  be  found  ;  but  our  concep- 
tion of  it  will  at  best  remain  one-sided  and  incom- 


MARTIN    LUTHER 


c     ^^c'    C      C    f 


MA  A'  r/X  LCI  HER.  39 

plete.  To  characterize  so  great  a  man  as  Luther 
is  like  attempting  to  paint  a  picture  of  Mont  Blanc 
— the  view  taken  may  be  perfectly  accurate  from  one 
point  of  observation  but  it  utterly  fails  from 
another.  Possibly  we  may  gain  the  best  conception 
of  this  remarkable  man  by  relating  in  simple  words 
the  story  of  his  life,  striving  to  catch  a  glimpse  ^i 
his  person  now  and  then  as  we  follow  him  in  his 
wonderful  career. 

Martin  Luther  was  born  November  loth,  1483, 
at  the  village  of  Eisleben  in  Electoral  Saxony. 
His  father's  name  was  Hans,  and  his  mother's 
maiden  name  was  Gretha  (Margaretha)  Ziegler.  ^ 
Luther's  father  was  a  miner  but  belonged  to  a  family 
of  farmers  that  had  become  impoverished.  That 
the  family  was  once  of  some  importance  is  ,sndent 
from  the  fact  that  they  had  a  coat-of-arms  which 
appears  on  the  old  Luther  house  at  Mansfeld,  and 
also  on  documents  signed  by  Martin  Luther's  bro- 
ther Jacob.  It  bears  a  rose  and  a  bow  and  arrows. 
Martin  Luther  seems  never  to  have  used  the  coat- 
of-arms,  but  he  utilized  the  rose  on  his  seal — that 
celebrated  seal  wdiich  represents  a  cross  resting  on 
a  heart  which  is  in  turn  supported  by  a  full-blown 
rose,  and  bears  an  inscription  which  may  be  trans- 
lated : 

"  The  Christian's  heart  doth  rest  ou  roses 
When  it  beneath  the  cross  reposes  ". 

(i)  Some  writers  erroneously'  allege  that  her  name  was  Lindeman  ;  but 
the  latter  was  in  fact  the  maiden  name  of  Luther's  grandmother. 


40  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

A  few  months  before  the  biith  of  Martin,  the 
eldest  son,  Hans  Luther,  removed  from  Mohra, 
where  the  family  had  long  been  settled,  to  the 
little  village  of  Eisleben,  and  soon  after  that  event 
to  ]\Iansfeld,  several  miles  distant,  where  he  con- 
tinued to  labor  as  a  miner.  It  was  the  old  story — 
the  mines  were  prosperous,  the  land  was  poor,  so 
the  agriculturist  took  a  lower  social  position  to  win 
higher  wages.  Hans  Luther  was,  however,  not  the 
kind  of  man  to  remain  long  in  such  a  position  with- 
out making  an  effort  to  improve  it.  Very  soon  we 
find  him  conducting  two  ovens  in  which  ores  were 
roasted — the  elector  of  Saxony  knew  him  per- 
sonally and  gave  him  his  confidence — so  that  he 
gradually  became  a  man  of  substance.  He  brought 
up  a  family  of  seven  children,  and  left  an  estate  of 
about  $5000  which  would  now  be  worth  three  or  four 
times  as  much.  That  was  a  pretty  good  showing 
for  a  poor  miner.  In  Martin's  boyhood  the  family 
was  compelled  to  struggle  with  intense  poverty. 
In  his  later  writings  he  confesses  that  he  and  Philip 
Melancthon  had  studied  astrology  in  the  hope  of 
finding  something  remarkable  in  the  conjunction 
of  the  planets  at  the  moment  of  his  birth^  ;  but  he 
had  found  nothing  that  could  give  him  con]  fort.  ^ 
He  says:  "My  father  was  a  poor  miner;  my 
mother  carried  all  our  wood  upon  her  back,  that 
she  might  warm  and  rear  us  ;  their  life  was  one  of 

(i)  Juncker's  Ehrengedezchtntss  Luthert,  p.  10. 


MA  A'  TIN  f.  I  '77//: k\  4 1 

severe  toil  aiul  extrciiie  privaLioii  ;  at  the  present 
day  people  would  hardly  hold  out  long  under  such 
circumstances^'.  It  is  orcatly  to  Luther's  credit 
that  he  always  honored  his  parents.  When  he 
came  to  prepare  a  marriao^e  service  for  the  Protest- 
ant churches  he  immortalized  their  names  hy  writ- 
ing :  "  Dost  thou  Hans  take  Gretha  to  be  tin- 
wedded  wife  "? 

Luther  had  a  hard  youth  and  was  probably  not 
easy  to  manage.  He  was  so  full  of  physical  vigor 
that  like  an  untamed  colt,  it  was  difficult  to  keep 
him  in  the  traces.  At  school  he  tells  us  he  was 
whipped  fifteen  times  in  one  morning.  At  this 
school  he  learned  to  read  and  write,  and  com.mitted 
to  memory  the  Creed,  Lord's  Prayer,  Ten  Com- 
mandments, and  some  hymns.  He  really  gave  more 
heed  to  the  teaching  of  the  miners  who  told  him 
ancient  legends — possibly  about  Dr.  Faustus,  Till 
Owlglass,  and  Reynard  the  Fox — and  filled  his 
mind  with  strange  stories  about  watches,  cobolds 
and  hobgoblins — stories  which  clung  to  him  all  his 
life.  He  did  not  appreciate  the  fact  that  these 
miners  were  teaching  him  his  native  laneua^e.  In 
those  days  scholars  generally  spoke  debased  Latin, 
and  many  of  them,  in  their  contempt  for  the  speech 
of  the  people,  refused  to  speak  German  at  all. 
There  was,  indeed,  a  kind  of  German  which  had 
grown  up  at  the  courts,  artificial,  involved,  and  full 
of  repetitions  ;  but  it  was  never  in  any  proper  sense 


42  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORM  A  TION. 

the  language  of  the  people.  Every  valley  in  Ger- 
many had,  however,  its  peculiar  dialect — rude, 
harsh  and  unpolished — and  neighbors  were  often 
unable  to  understand  each  other's  speech.  Curi- 
ously enough  it  was  the  Saxon  dialect  alone  which 
possessed  capacities  for  literary  development,  and 
in  later  life  Luther  utilized  them  to  the  utmost 
In  Latin  he  was  inferior  to  many  of  his  cotempo- 
raries  ;  but  in  pure  idiomatic  German  he  rose  im- 
measureably  higher  than  them  all.  Schaff  says  : 
"  The  hardships  of  Luther's  youth  and  the  want  of 
refined  breeding  show  themselves  in  his  writings 
and  actions.  They  limited  his  influence  among 
the  higher  and  cultivated  classes,  but  increased  his 
power  among  the  middle  and  lower.  He  was  a 
man  of  the  people  and  for  the  people.  He  was  not 
a  polished  diamond,  but  a  rough  block  cut  out  from 
a  granite  mountain,  and  well  fitted  for  the  base  of  a 
mighty  structure.  He  laid  the  foundation  and 
others  finished  the  upper  stories  ". 

Luther's  father  v/as  ambitious  and  encouraged 
his  son  to  study,  though  he  did  very  little  to  assist 
him.  At  an  early  age  the  boy  went  to  school  in 
Magdeburg  and  Eisenach,  and  in  his  fourteenth 
year  began  to  support  himself  by  singing  in  the 
streets.  The  traditions  of  the  poor  scholars  of  the 
Middle  Ages  had  not  yet  passed  away,  and  this 
method  of  securing  an  education  was  not  disrepu- 
table.     It  was  at  Eisenach   that  Ursula  Cotta,  the 


AfAA'T/x  LrriniR.  43 

wife  of  tlie  leading  merchant  of  the  town,  immor- 
talized herself  In-  giving  the  boy  a  seat  at  her  table. 
When  Lnther  attended  the  university  of  Krfurt 
he  did  not  seek  associates  among  the  humanists. 
He  was  no  worshipper  of  the  Greeks,  and  was  not 
attracted  by  the  new  heathenism  of  the  renaissance. 
From  the  beginning  he  sympathized  more  with  the 
scholastics  and  mystics  than  with  the  men  of  the 
new  era.  He  acquired  the  Latin  language  to  such 
a  degree  that  he  could  speak  and  write  it  with 
fluency  ;  but  he  was  painfully  aware  that  his  style 
was  not  Ciceronian.  Greek  and  Hebrew  he  nee- 
lected,  and  acquired  a  working  knowledge  of  these 
languages  only  when  his  life-work  rendered  it 
necessary.  Mediaeval  philosophy  he  studied  at  a 
time  when  the  humanists  were  discardincr  it,  and 
became  an  expert  and  powerful  reasoner.  In  brief, 
he  did  not  propose  to  live  the  life  of  a  recluse,  and 
studied  those  things  which  he  believed  would  prove 
useful  in  a  public  and  political  career.  He  took 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  with  credit,  and  in 
1503  was  promoted  to  be  a  Master  of  Arts.  On  the 
latter  occasion  his  friends  held  a  little   torchlight 

o 

procession  in  his  honor,  and  this  event  he  ever 
afterwards  regarded  as  the  happiest  of  his  life. 
About  this  time  Luther's  father,  who  had  now  be- 
come more  liberal,  presented  him  a  set  of  the 
Corpics  Jttris — a  series  of  legal  volumes  which  had 
cost  him  a  orreat  deal  of  monev.      He  was  anxious 


44  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

that  his  son  should  become  a  lawyer  ;  for  he  had 
probably  noticed — as  has  more  recently  been  ob- 
served by  others — that  "when  Providence  distributes 
the  good  things  of  this  life,  lawyers  are  pretty  sure 
to  receive  their  share  ".  For  a  year  or  two  the  son 
studied  the  old  Roman  law,  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  it  did  him  a  great  deal  of  good.  It  is 
hardly  a  mere  coincidence  that  the  two  leading  Re- 
formers— Luther  and  Calvin — were  once  students 
of  law  ;  and  it  is  altogether  likely  that  even  at  the 
present  day  young  theologians  would  be  consider- 
ably improved  by  a  course  of  Blackstone. 

Hans  Luther,  at  Mansfeld,  was  rejoicing  at  his 
son's  progress  in  legal  study,  when  suddenly  he 
received  a  message  that  the  young  man — at  the  age 
of  twenty-one — had  broken  away  from  all  his 
earlier  associations  and  become  a  monk.  At  present 
we  can  hardly  appreciate  the  terrible  nature  of  such 
tidings.  The  father  was  a  practical  man  of  the 
world  who  had  no  liking  for  monks  and  monkery. 
According  to  the  notions  of  the  age  the  son  was 
now  practically  dead  to  his  family,  to  society,  and 
to  every  hope  of  earthly  happiness.  Imagine  a 
father — if  such  a  thing  could  happen  without  dis- 
grace— receiving  news  that  a  son,  who  had  recently 
graduated  at  college,  had  been  condemned  to  life- 
long imprisonment,  and  you  can  form  some  idea  of 
Hans  Luther's  disappointment  and  grief.  Worst 
of  all,  Martin  had   been  persuaded  by  the  monks 


MAR  TIN  L  irrilliR.  45 

that  it  was  his  duty  to  take  tliis  step  without  con- 
sulting his  laihcr  ;  and  this  tlic  latter  regarded  as  a 
personal  slight  which  it  took  him  years  to  forgive. 
When  his  son  was  ordained  a  priest  he  allowed 
himself  to  be  persuaded  to  be  present  at  the  festiv- 
ities ;  but  when  some  one  asked  him  whether  he 
was  not  proud  of  his  son's  promotion,  he  replied  : 
"  Have  you  not  read  in  the  Scripture  :  '  Honor  thv 
father  and  mother'"?  Indeed,  it  was  not  until 
]\Iartin  had  separated  from  Rome  and  had  become  a 
married  man  that  he  entirely  forgave  the  past  and 
heartily  rejoiced  in  his  brilliant  career.  It  may 
perhaps  be  doubted  whether  Hans  Luther  was  ever 
profoundly  attached  to  the  church  of  Rome. 

What  induced  Martin  Luther  to  become  a  monk 
we  do  not  exactly  know.  The  old  story  is  that  his 
friend  Alexis  was  killed  by  lightning  at  his  side  ; 
but  there  is  some  authority  for  believing  that  this 
friend  was  killed  in  a  duel.  Other  writers  say  that 
Luther  was  terribly  frightened  by  a  thunder-storm 
during  which  he  fell  stunned  to  the  earth,  and  that 
in  his  terror  he  exclaimed  :  "  Help,  St.  Anna,  and 
I  will  become  a  monk".  He  himself  intimates  the 
step  was  taken  in  accordance  with  a  vow  w^hich  he 
had  hastily  made  in  an  hour  of  danger. 

Luther's  sojourn  in  the  convent  at  Erfurt  was  a 
necessary  stadium  in  his  religious  development. 
It  was  for  him  a  period  of  intense  conflict,  and  in 
his  mind  mediaeval  doctrine  and  modern  ideas  were 


46  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION, 

strangely  mingled.  That  he  was  profoundly  in 
earnest  can  not  be  doubted.  He  submitted  to 
every  possible  penance  and  almost  starved  himself 
to  death.  As  he  himself  said  :  "  If  ever  a  monk 
could  have  got  to  heaven  by  monkery,  I  was  that 
monk".  Every  morning  he  repeated  the  '*  Pater 
Noster"  and  the  "Hail  Mary"  twenty-five  times, 
rehearsing  them,  as  he  afterwards  declared,  "just 
like  a  parrot  ".  After  going  through  his  devotions 
he  worried  himself  because  he  had  not  been  suffi- 
ciently devout.  He  constantly  reproached  himself 
with  imaginary  transgressions,  crying  day  and 
night,  like  Simeon  on  his  pillar:  "  Have  mercy, 
Lord,  and  take  away  my  sin  "!  In  his  extremity 
he  turned  to  John  von  Staupitz,  the  head  of  the 
Augustinian  order  in  Germany — a  man  of  great 
learning  and  piety,  who  is  generally  regarded  as  one 
of  the  "  Reformers  before  the  Reformation  ".  This 
man  became  Luther's  spiritual  father  and  did  all 
in  his  power  to  show  him  a  better  way  ;  though 
when  the  decisive  moment  came  he  shrank  back 
and  died  in  the  communion  of  Rome.  When  Lu- 
ther confessed  his  sins  to  him  he  spoke  only  of  evil 
thoughts;  "for",  he  said,  "  these  are  the  root  of 
the  whole  matter".  Staupitz  said:  "You  desire 
to  be  without  sin  and  yet  are  free  from  real  sin. 
These  temptations  are  necessary  for  you,  but  for 
you  only".  "He  simply  meant",  says  Luther, 
"  that  without  such    temptation    I  would  become 


MARTIN  u  thi:r.  47 

proud  and  hanolily  ".  l^ateron  Liitlicr  understood 
better  liow  to  deal  with  evil  iIkju^IUs.  "  You  can- 
not prevent  evil  tlioughts",  lie  said,  "but  you 
must  coutror  tliem.  You  cannot  forbid  the  birds 
to  fly  over  your  head  ;  but  you  can  help  them  from 
building  nests  in  your  hair". 

In  the  university  library  at  Erfurt  Luther  had  for 
the  first  time  seen  a  complete  Bible.  Tliis  does  not 
mean  that  the  Bible  was  absolutely  a  scaled  book, 
for  it  had  been  printed  in  Latin  and  German,  and 
there  were  many  learned  men  who  were  familiar 
with  its  contents  ;  but  to  Luther,  whose  studies  had 
taken  a  different  channel,  its  discovery  was  a  real 
revelation.  In  the  convent  he  continued  to  study 
the  sacred  book  in  connection  with  the  writings  of 
the  mystics,  John  Tauler,  Thomas  a  Kempis,  and 
the  unknown  author  of  the  Theologia  Germanica. 
He  also  read  the  writings  of  Erasmus,  whom  he 
recognized  as  the  greatest  scholar  of  his  age,  though 
he  did  not  like  his  humorous  treatment  of  sacred 
things.  In  a  letter,  written  as  early  as  1516,  he 
expressed  the  fear  that  Erasmus  had  little  experi- 
ence of  the  grace  of  God. 

It  was  during  this  period  of  trial  that  the  light 
began  to  break  upon  Luther's  troubled  soul.  ''As 
I  meditated  day  and  night",  he  says,  "upon  the 
words  :  '  For  therein  is  the  righteousness  of  God 
revealed  from  faith  to  faith  :  as  it  is  written,  The 
just    shall    live    by     faith',    I    perceived    that    the 


48  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

righteousness  of  God  is  that  through  which  the 
just  man  through  God's  goodness  lives — that  is  to 
sdiY  fait/i.  On  this  I  felt  as  if  I  were  born  again, 
and  seemed  to  be  entering  through  the  opening 
portals  of  paradise". 

Years  passed  before  this  principle  was  fully  de- 
veloped. For  the  present  Luther  remained  a  monk^ 
devoutly  attached  to  Rome,  and  ready  to  believe 
every  mediaeval  fable.  Staupitz  was,  however, 
convinced  that  he  deserved  a  broader  career  than 
the  convent  afforded  him,  and,  in  1510,  secured  for 
him  an  opportunity  of  visiting  Rome  as  a  repre- 
sentative of  his  order.  This,  too,  was  necessary  to 
prepare  him  for  his  mighty  work.  His  mind  was 
full  of  romantic  ideas  concerning  the  eternal  city 
and  God's  vice-gerent  who  ruled  in  Caesar's  place. 
Rome  was  to  him,  as  Jerusalem  was  to  the  ancient 
Israelite,  the  joy  of  the  whole  world  ;  he  turned  to 
it  in  prayer  as  the  Mohammedan  turns  to  Mecca. 
When  he  approached  the  holy  city,  he  burst  forth 
in  an  enthusiastic  apostrophe  ;  and  it  seemed  to 
him  as  if  the  noble  army  of  martyrs  were  stream- 
ing forth  from  the  sacred  gates  to  bid  him  welcome. 
He  did  not  dream  that  he  was  visiting  a  city  where 
faith  was  dead  and  heathenism  reigned  supreme. 
In  his  enthusiasm  he  visited  all  the  holy  places, 
saw  all,  and  believed  all  ;  but  as  he  ascended  the 
Holy  Staircase  on  his  knees  the  words  once  more 
flashed  on  his  mind  :  ''The  just  shall  live  by  faith". 


MAR1I.\  IJTin.R.  49 

It  was  not  lon^^  Ijctbrc  tlie  cl(jv(nit  )'oiini^  Ger- 
man was  made  to  feel  that  his  dc\'otion  was  tlie 
object  of  ridicule.  Julius  II. — known  in  history 
as  "  the  fighting  po])c" — was  on  the  throne  :  a  man 
of  immense  ability,  who  cared  for  notliing  so  much 
as  to  advance  the  temporal  power  of  the  papacy. 
Not  as  scandalous  as  his  predecessor,  Alexander  VI., 
the  Borgia  ;  not  as  skeptical  as  his  successor, 
Leo  X.,  the  Medici  ;  his  thoughts  were  of  battles, 
and  his  words  breathed  blood  and  desolation.  "  His 
great  artist,  Michael  Angelo,"  says  Michelet,  ''rep- 
resents him  conferring  his  blessing  on  Bologna  like 
a  Jupiter  hurling  thunderbolts."  When  he  spoke 
of  religion  at  all  it  was  with  a  covert  sneer  which 
rendered  his  sincerity  doubtful.  There  is  a  story 
that  one  of  the  cardinals  had  insulted  Michael 
Angelo,  who  took  his  revenge  by  painting  him 
among  the  condemned  in  his  picture  of  the  Last 
Judgment  in  the  Sistine  chapel.  The  likeness  was 
unmistakable  and  the  cardinal  hastened  to  the  pope 
to  demand  the  punishment  of  the  presumptuous 
artist.  "  Well !"  said  Julius  drily,  "  the  case  is 
difficult.  If  he  had  put  you  in  purgatory  I  might 
have  taken  you  out,  by  virtue  of  my  holy  office  ; 
but  since  you  are  in  hell  I  am  afraid  you  will  have 
to  stay  there  ;  no  pope's  authority  extends  so  far." 
And  there  he  has  remained  to  this  day. 

Michelet  says:  ''Paganism  has  ever  existed  in 
Italy  ;    there    despite    every   effi)rt  even   nature   is 


50  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

pagan,  and  art  follows  nature,  a  glorious  comedy, 
tricked  out  by  Raphael  and  sung  by  Ariosto." 

If  ever  the  essential  paganism  of  Italy  was  fully 
illustrated  it  was  at  the  time  of  Luther's  visit  to 
Rome.  Humanism  had  alienated  the  priests  and 
people  from  the  simple  faith  of  Christ,  though  they 
were  still  inclined  to  attach  a  sort  of  magical 
efficacy  to  the  grand  ceremonials  of  the  church. 
Priests  there  were  who  thought  it  very  funny  to  say 
in  the  mass,  at  the  moment  of  consecration,  "  Pants 
es  et  pa7iis  manebis'^  ('*  Bread  thou  art  and  bread 
thou  shalt  remain"),  and  if  they  happened  to  allude 
to  divine  grace  they  called  it  "  the  favor  of  the  im- 
mortal gods."  At  their  banquets  they  freely  joked 
concerning  matters  which  Christians  have  always 
regarded  with  religious  awe,  and  irreligious  witti- 
cisms were  greeted  with  the  loudest  applause. 

That  Luther  was  disgusted  with  such  talk  goes 
without  saying.  This  fact  may  have  been  observed 
by  the  Roman  ecclesiastics,  and  they  may  have 
amused  themselves  in  his  presence  by  making 
things  appear  worse  than  they  really  were.  When 
Luther  subsequently  related  stories  concerning  the 
morals  of  Rome  which  seem  to  have  been  derived 
from  the  Decameron  of  Boccaccio,  we  are  inclined 
to  think  that  the  Romans  had  been  practicing  on 
his  credulity.  He  was  himself  full  of  the  richest 
humor  ;  but  this  was  a  kind  of  humor  which  he 
could    not   understand,       A    French    writer    says  : 


M.l A'  77 A'  A  f ' rilER.  5 1 

''  Luther  quitted  Rome  at  the  end  of  a  fortnif^ht, 
bearing  witli  liini  into  Italy  the  condemnation  of 
Italy  and  of  the  ehurch.  In  his  rapid  and  sadden- 
ing visit  the  Saxon  had  seen  enough  to  enable  him 
to  condemn,  too  little  to  allow  him  to  comprehend. 
And,  beyond  a  doubt,  for  a  mind  preoccupied  with 
the  moral  side  of  Christianity,  to  have  discovered 
any  religion  in  that  world  of  art,  law  and  policy 
which  constituted  Italy  would  have  required  a 
singular  effort  of  philosophy."  "I  would  not," 
Luther  somewhere  says,  "  have  missed  seeing  Rome 
for  a  hundred  thousand  florins.  I  should  ever  have 
been  uneasy  lest  I  had  done  injustice  to  the  pope." 

In  1 512  Luther  was  called  to  a  professorship  of 
Theology  in  the  university  which  the  Elector  Fred- 
erick, suriiamed  "The  Wise,"  had  founded  in  the 
town  of  Wittenberg.  He  did  not  desire  to  accept 
the  call,  but  Staupitz  persuaded  him.  Ten  years 
later  he  said  :  "  If  I  had  then  known  what  I  know 
now,  ten  horses  should  not  have  drawn  me  into  this 
professorship." 

The  Elector  Frederick  had  founded  his  university 
on  liberal  principles  and  was  very  anxious  for  its 
prosperity.  It  was  the  only  university  where  an 
oath  of  obedience  to  the  pope  was"'not  exacted. 
The  Elector  himself  was  a  pious  Catholic,  but  was 
also  a  friend  of  honesty  and  fair  play.  Having 
taken  Luther  under  his  protection  he  never  with- 
drew his  favor  ;  though  curiously  enough,  he^seems 


52  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

never  to  have  made  his  personal  acquaintance,  and 
possibly  never  saw  him,  except  on  the  memorable 
occasion  of  his  defense  at  the  diet  of  Worms. 
Frederick  was  the  most  powerful  prince  in  Ger- 
many, and  on  the  death  of  Maximilian  I.  he  had 
been  for  a  time  regent  of  the  empire  and  had  been 
offered  the  imperial  crown.  He  had,  however,  de- 
clined this  dignity  and  had  nominated  Charles,  of 
Spain,  thus  gaining  the  lasting  gratitude  of  that 
monarch.  It  was  this  fact,  together  with  his  ap- 
parent moderation  and  impartiality,  that  enabled 
Frederick  to  save  the  Reformation  in  Germany.  It 
was  not  until  the  end  of  his  life  that  he  received 
the  communion  in  both  kinds,  and  thus  declared 
himself  a  Protestant. 

For  five  years  Luther  preached  and  taught  at 
Wittenberg,  but  there  was  nothing  to  attract  special 
attention  to  his  work.  His  lectures  on  the  Psalms 
were  deemed  worthy  of  publication  ;  he  was  known 
to  be  a  promising  scholar  ;  but  that  was  all.  Then 
came  the  series  of  events  which  made  him  the 
leader  of  thousands  who  had  been  waiting  for  such 
a  man.  These  events  are  so  well  known  that  we 
venture  to  rehearse  them  in  the  briefest  possible 
manner. 

Leo  X.  had  become  pope — a  prince  of  the  house 
of  Medici — a  man  of  the  highest  culture  ;  he  could 
talk  Ciceronian  Latin,  but  cared  not  a  straw  for  re- 
ligion.     He  supposed  that  his  reign  would  be  re- 


M.IA'T/X  L('77//:k' 


53 


niciiibcrcd  in  history  on  account  of  the  great 
number  of  antique  statues  which  had  been  dis- 
covered ;  but  he  had  no  idea  of  what  was  going  on 
beyond  the  Alps.  Not  an  immoral  man  by  any 
means — he  was  too  proud  to  disgrace  himself  by 
common  vices — but  under  his  mild  rule  abuses 
flourished.  Above  all  things  he  desired  to  complete 
the  great  basilica  of  St.  Peter's — the  crowning 
glory  of  the  papacy — which  had  become,  as  Vol- 
taire said  of  Versailles,  "an  abyss  of  expenses." 
It  occurred  to  him,  or  to  his  advisers,  that,  if  the 
church  had  no  ready  cash,  it  was  believed  to  be  in 
possession  of  a  treasury  of  grace  which  might  be 
dispensed  in  such  a  way  as  to  bring  a  grand  return 
in  contributions  for  the  great  building.  In  the 
Middle  Ages  it  had  come  to  be  believed  that  the 
church  has  the  power  to  grant  indulgences  which 
involved  the  remission  of  the  penalties  of  sin.  The 
forgiveness  of  sin,  it  was  said,  is  conditioned  on 
penitence,  and  indulgences  are  of  use  only  to  those 
who  are  truly  penitent ;  but  the  church  holds  that 
even  the  forgiveness  of  sin  does  not  remove  all  the 
penalties  which  are  due  to  an  offended  law.  There 
remain  certain  penances  which  must  be  endured 
either  in  this  life  or  in  purgatory.  These  penances 
the  church  can  remit  on  the  ground  of  the  super- 
abundant merits  of  Christ  and  of  the  saints  ;  and 
in  this  assertion  we  have  the  ground  of  the  whole 
system  of  indulgences.      It  is  in  some  respects  diffi- 


54  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

cult  to  understand  and  may  easily  be  misrepresented. 
The  Germans  did  not  take  kindly  to  it,  and  'Luther 
said  he  hardly  knew  what  indulgences  were  until 
they  were  forced  upon  his  attention.  In  France 
and  some  other  countries  the  sale  of  indulgences 
was  forbidden  ;  but  the  pope  made  an  agreement 
with  Albert,  prince-archbishop  of  Magdeburg,  to 
sell  them  all  over  Germany,  and  the  projSts  were 
then  to  be  divided.  A  Dominican,  John  Tetzel,  a 
big  man  with  a  stentorian  voice,  traveled  in  great 
state  from  one  town  to  another,  and  called  upon  the 
people  to  purchase  the  pope's  indulgence,  either  for 
themselves  or  for  their  deceased  friends  who  were 
suffering  the  pains  of  purgatory.  The  character  of 
the  man  has  been  much  discussed,  but  I  think  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  he  conducted  himself  like  an 
ordinary  mountebank.  Darras,  a  Roman  Catholic 
historian,  says:  "He  tampered  with  the  doctrine 
he  was  sent  to  preach."  When  he  dropped  money 
into  the  great  chest  that  was  standing  at  his  side, 
he  is  said  to  have  exclaimed  : 

'■  When  in  the  chest  the  money  rings, 
Out  of  its  pain  the  spirit  springs  ; 

There,  there  !     I  see  it  flying — the  soul  is  flying 
out  of  purgatory  into  heaven." 

Unless  Tetzel  is  greatly  belied  he  said  worse 
things  than  these.  Picturing  the  worst  possible 
crimes  in  the  foulest  language,  he  exclaimed : 
"Now,  if  you  have  committed  crimes  like  these, 


MARTIN  LUTHER,  ^^ 

all  you  luu^c  to  uo  is  to  i)urcliase  an  indulgence." 
If  he  added  the  words  "  il  you  have  from  the  lieart 
repented  of  them  "  it  was  in  an  undertone.  It  is 
even  said  that  he  sold  indul<.^ences  for  sins  about  to 
be  connnitted  ;  and  that  with  such  a  paper  in  his 
pocket  one  of  his  penitents  robbed  his  money-chest. 
The  excitement  caused  by  Tetzel's  preaching- 
was  intense.  The  churches  were  empty,  for  the 
people  believed  that  they  had  found  a  shorter  road 
to  heaven.  The  priests  denounced  Tetzel  from  the 
altar  ;  the  humanists  wrote  against  him  in  elegant 
Latin  ;  but  the  Dominican  cared  nothing  for  their 
opposition.  Then  it  was  that  Martin  Luther — 
after  appealing  in  vain  to  his  archbishop — on  the 
31st  of  October,  151 7,  affixed  his  ninety-five  theses 
to  the  church-door  in  Wittenberg.  They  were,  in 
fact,  a  challenge  to  the  world  to  discuss  the  v.diole 
question  of  indulgences.  When  you  examine  them 
now  they  appear  mild  ;  you  must  read  between  the 
lines  if  you  would  understand  them.  Others  had 
said  harder  things  against  the  pope — others  had 
more  clearly  proclaimed  what  is  now  known  as 
Protestant  doctrine — but  this  was  a  public,  it  may 
be  said  an  official  challenge,  which  even  the  elegant 
infidel  pope  could  not  fail  to  heed.  It  was  an  act 
of  supreme  bravery,  and  is  very  properly  regarded 
as  the  beginning  of  the  German  Reformation.  He 
fired  the  first  cannon  of  the  war,  and  "the  shot 
was  heard  around  the  world. " 


56  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION, 

The  next  few  years  of  Luther's  life  were  occu- 
pied by  intense  struggles.  At  first  the  pope  was 
inclined  to  regard  the  trouble  as  of  very  little  im- 
portance. ''  It  is  nothing  but  a  monkish  quarrel," 
he  said  ;  ''  Brother  Martin  is  a  man  of  genius — let 
him  alone  I"  When  the  conflict  grew  more  serious 
he  sent  two  legates ;  first,  Cardinal  Cajetan,  an 
Italian,  who  insisted  on  unconditional  submission  ; 
then,  Charles  de  Miltitz,  a  Saxon  nobleman,  who 
made  himself  agreeable  and  induced  Luther  to 
write  a  humble  letter  to  the  pope,  in  which  he 
agreed  to  submit  unreservedly  to  the  decision  of  the 
church  on  condition  that  his  enemies  should  let 
him  alone.  Thus  the  whole  trouble  appeared  to  be 
settled.  Luther's  enemies,  however,  would  not  let 
him  alone  ;  and,  as  he  says  in  one  of  his  books,  he 
was  so  constituted  that  he  could  not  decline  a  chal- 
lenge. Dr.  Eck,  of  Ingolstadt,  held  a  disputation 
with  him  at  Leipsic  ;  and,  as  is  usual  in  such  cases, 
both  sides  claimed  the  victory.  Eck  was  a  man  of 
great  learning,  thoroughly  familiar  with  canon  law, 
but  pompous  and  pretentious.  Luther  surprised 
him  by  refusing  to  be  bound  by  the  decrees  of 
councils,  and  fell  back  on  the  Scriptures  as  the  only 
guide  of  faith  and  practice.  "  But  who,"  said  Eck, 
"  shall  interpret  the  Scriptures,  if  not  the  councils  ?" 
Then  Luther  advanced  the  second  great  principle  of 
the  Reformation — the  principle  of  private  judg- 
ment, which  has  ever  since  remained  its  most  dis- 


MA  A'  TIN  I.  rrUER.  57 

tinctivc  characteristic.  The  controversy  now  be- 
came acrimonions  and  personal  ;  tlie  orators  insulted 
each  other  in  the  most  outrageous  manner,  and 
TvUther  launched  against  the  pope  his  most  violent 
philippics. 

It  was  now  felt  that  reconciliation  was  an  impos- 
sibility, and  the  pope  at  last  launched  against  Lu- 
ther a  bull  of  excommunication.  In  earlier  times 
this  was  a  terrible  thing  ;  it  had  deprived  its  victims 
of  all  civil  and  social  rights  ;  it  meant  separation  from 
Christian  people — perhaps  starvation  and  a  name- 
less grave.  What  w^ould  Luther  do  now?  His 
friends  trembled,  and  even  the  elector  was  in  doubt 
whether  he  could  any  longer  protect  him.  Then 
it  was  that  Luther  did  what  no  one  could  have  an- 
ticipated— an  act  of  boldness  which  for  pure  auda- 
city was  infinitely  in  advance  of  the  promulgation 
of  the  ninety-five  theses.  He  gathered  the  profess- 
ors who  were  favorable  to  him  and  the  great  body 
of  the  students,  built  a  bonfire,  and — burned  the 
bull.  We  know  how  students  sometimes  amuse  or 
revenge  themselves  by  burning  Ovid  or  Calculus  ; 
and  to  the  students  at  Wittenberg  it  afforded  great 
enjoyment  to  condemn  the  pope's  proclamation  to 
such  a  fate.  They  ran  all  over  town  to  gather  me- 
diaeval books — Decrees  of  Councils,  Apostolic  Con- 
stitutions, Pseudo-Isidorian  Decretals — and  con- 
demned them  all  to  the  flames.  To  the  students  it 
was   probably   pure   fun  ;  and  yet   they   could  not 


58  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

help  feeling  that  by  this  act  they  had  cast  defiance 
into  the  face  of  the  pope  of  Rome.  The  act  accom- 
plished its  purpose  by  its  very  audacity.  Hence- 
forth there  could  be  no  more  temporizing ;  the 
battle  must  now  be  fouo-ht  until  it  ended  in  victorv 
or  defeat. 

It  was  of  great  advantage  to  the  Reformation 
that  Luther  was  now  associated  with  Philip  Melanc- 
thon.  The  latter  was  a  native  of  the  Palatinate ; 
a  nephew  of  the  celebrated  Reuchlin,  and  himself, 
next  to  Erasmus,  the  foremost  Greek  scholar  of  his 
age.  Called  to  a  professorship  in  Wittenberg  when 
he  was  but  twent^^-one  years  of  age,  he  became 
Luther's  chief  assistant  and  most  valued  friend. 
Though  never  ordained  to  the  ministry  he  became 
the  most  eminent  theologian  of  Germany.  A  man 
of  gentle  disposition  he  exerted  his  influence  to 
moderate  the  controversial  fierceness  of  his  col- 
league. He  was,  however,  no  mere  imitator,  but 
had  views  of  his  own  which  he  was  not  afraid  to 
defend.  Luther  wrote,  in  1529:  "I  prefer  the 
books  of  Master  Philippus  to  my  own.  I  am 
rough,  boisterous,  and  altogether  warlike.  I  am 
born  to  fight  against  innumerable  monsters  and 
devils.  I  must  remove  stumps  and  stones,  cut 
away  thistles  and  thorns,  and  clear  the  wild 
forests ;  but  Master  Philippus  comes  along  softly 
and  gently,  sowing  and  watering  with  joy,  accord- 


MARTIN  IJ-TIU'IR.  59 

iii<^  to  the  orifts  which  (rod  has  abundaiitly  Ijcstowed 
upon  him." 

"  Witliout  Luther,"  says  Dr.  Schaff,  '^tlie  Refor- 
mation would  never  have  taken  hold  of  the  common 
people  ;  without  Melanctlion  it  would  never  have 
succeeded  among  the  scholars  of  Germany.  "  Occa- 
sionally the  two  men  did  not  perfectly  harmonize. 
"Our  doctor,"  said  Melancthon,  after  Luther's 
death,  "  found  it  difficult  to  think  well  of  any  one 
who  did  not  fully  agree  with  him." 

With  every  conflict  Luther  grew  stronger.  He 
wrote  books  in  which  he  called  the  pope  "Anti- 
christ"— not  personally,  as  he  was  careful  to  ex- 
plain, but  as  the  representative  of  a  system.  When 
reproved  for  his  violence  he  said,  truly  enough  :  "  If 
I  speak  gently  they  will  not  mind  me."  He  was  a 
terrible  controversialist,  but  he  was  f^entle  to  the 
fallen.  There  was  withal  in  his  nature  a  deep 
under-current  of  poetry  that  refreshed  and  beauti- 
fied the  waste  places  of  life.  Where  in  all  litera- 
ture can  we  find  an  author  who  has  said  so  many 
original,  so  many  wonderful  things  ?  His  hymns 
were  written  amid  intense  struggles,  but  even  his 
enemies  cannot  deny  that  for  grandeur  of  diction 
and  unconditional  trust  in  God  they  are  unequalled 
in  the  history  of  song.  In  all  Christian  hymnology 
there  is  nothing  grander  than  the  Marseillaise  of  the 
Reformation,  ' '  Ein/este  Biirgy  He  did  not  always 
stand  on  the  heights  of  poetic  inspiration  ;  but  was 


6o  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

sometimes  depressed  to  the  verge  of  despair.  Then 
suddenly  a  humorous  story  occurred  to  him,  and  he 
burst  forth  in  laughter  loud  and  long.  Would  not 
the  bow  have  snapped  if  it  had  not  been  occasion- 
ally unbent? 

Luther's  appearance  before  the  diet  of  Worms 
concludes  the  heroic  period  of  his  life.  The  young 
emperor  had  at  last,  in  152 1,  summoned  the  Re- 
former to  appear  before  the  princes  and  prelates  to 
give  an  account  of  his  doctrine.  He  sent  him  a 
safe-conduct  ;  but  the  world  had  not  forgotten  how 
in  the  case  of  John  Huss  a  similar  document  had 
been  disregarded.  To  the  everlasting  honor  of 
Charles  be  it  said  that  he  was  no  Sigismund.  He 
was  an  intense  Roman  Catholic,  though  with  a 
leaning  towards  a  reformation  by  means  of  a  gen- 
eral council,  but  he  was  also  a  man  of  honor  and 
kept  his  word. 

To  go  to  Worms  was  under  the  circumistances  a 
dangerous  matter,  though  Luther  was  to  a  certain 
extent  protected  by  the  elector  and  had  some  other 
influential  friends  in  the  diet.  On  the  way  he 
wrote  to  Spalatin  :  "  I  will  go  to  Worms  though 
there  should  be  as  many  devils  there  as  there  are 
tiles  on  the  house-tops."  Franz  von  Sickingen 
desired  him  to  stay  at  his  castle,  near  Worms, 
where  he  would  be  safe  ;  but  nothing  could  turn 
him  from  his  purpose.  On  the  way  to  the  Diet, 
it  is  said,  the  celebrated  general,  George  Frunds- 


MARTIN  LrriiER.  6r 

berg,  the  leader  of  the  "Free  Lances,"  touched 
him  on  the  shoulder  and  said  :  "  Monklin^^,  monk- 
linij;;,  tliou  art  i^oin<^  to  make  such  a  stand  as  neither 
I  nor  any  o:  my  companions  in  arms  have  ever 
made  in  our  hottest  battles." 

x\t  his  first  appearance  before  the  Diet  Luther 
seemed  dazzled  by  the  imperial  presence.  When 
required  to  recant  he  asked  time  for  consideration. 
It  was  at  his  second  appearance  that,  after  defend- 
ing himself  in  well-chosen  language,  he  spoke  at 
least  in  substance  the  celebrated  words  :  "  Here  I 
stand — I  cannot  do  otherwise — God  help  me  !" 

There  was  something  sublime  in  that  utterance, 
and  for  a  time  his  adversaries  appeared  to  be  silenced. 
Luther  was  allowed  to  leave  Worms  without  moles- 
tation, though  the  Diet  condemned  him  and  he 
w^as  put  under  the  ban  of  the  empire.  For  several 
days  he  journeyed  homeward  undisturbed.  He 
even  stopped  to  visit  his  relatives  at  Alohra,  and 
preached  in  the  village  church.  Then,  as  they 
were  jogging  along  the  highway,  a  company  of 
soldiers  suddenly  rushed  out  of  the  forest  and,  with- 
out a  word  to  any  one,  seized  Luther  and  carried 
him  away.  The  consternation  of  his  friends  was 
indescribable,  and  soon  all  Germany  was  in  a  blaze. 
What  had  become  of  Luther  ?  Had  he  been  assassin- 
ated— or  carried  away  by  brigands — or  by  the 
agents  of  the  emperor — or  by  the  inquisition? 
Men  vainly  sought  for  him  everywhere,  and  it  was 


62  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

generally  believed  that  he  was  dead.  One  evening, 
however,  a  letter  which  caused  universal  rejoicing 
was  conveyed  to  Wittenberg.  It  was  dated  at 
"  Patmos"  and  written  in  Luther's  own  unmistak- 
able hand.  Now  "Patmos,"  we  know,  was  the 
island  to  which  St.  John  had  been  banished  when 
he  beheld  his  great  apocalypse  ;  and  the  use  of  the 
name  on  this  occasion  appeared  to  indicate  that 
Luther  was  a  prisoner  at  a  place  where  he  was  per- 
mitted to  enjoy  considerable  liberty  He  had, 
indeed,  been  carried  away  by  the  confidential 
aeents  of  the  elector  to  a  castle  in  the  Thuringian 
forest,  called  the  Wartburg.  Here  he  was  required 
to  put  on  the  armor  of  a  knight,  was  called 
*'  Knight  George,"  and  was  supposed  to  be  a  rela- 
tive of  the  elector.  Here  in  absolute  solitude 
Luther  continued  his  labors  ;  translating  the  New 
Testament  and  doing  an  immense  amount  of  other 
literary  w^ork.  In  his  solitude  he  grew  nervous, 
and  supposed  that  he  was  specially  persecuted  by 
Satan.  There  is  no  proof  that  he  actually  cast  his 
ink-stand  at  the  devil,  but  it  is  certain  that  his 
doubts  and  troubles  projected  themselves  as  appa- 
ritions. More  than  once  the  great  enemy  of  souls 
appeared  to  him  during  the  night,  and  he  disputed 
with  him  until  he  trembled.  Once  the  devil 
taunted  him  with  the  fact  that  he  was  a  great  sin- 
ner. "I  knew  that  long  ago,"  said  Luther,  "tell 
me  something  new.    Christ  has  taken  my  sins  upon 


MARTIN  IJTIIER.  63 

Himself  aiul  fori^ixcii   tliciii  long  ago.      Now  j^rind 
your  teeth.'' 

I  am  not  surprised  to  read  tliat  Lntlier  ])eheld 
apparitions  during  the  period  of  his  sojourn  at  the 
Waitburg-.  His  disposition  and  early  training  pre- 
disposed him  to  believe  that  his  conflict  with  the 
powers  of  evil  was  personal  ;  and  he  was  no  doubt 
fully  prepared  for  visible  indications  of  their  pres- 
ence. It  he  addressed  his  great  enemy  in  language 
that  appears  coarse  and  undignified  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  he  was  but  following  the  traditions 
of  the  cloister  and  of  the  mediaeval  exorcists. 

Nine  montlis  Luther  remained  at  the  Wartburg  ; 
then  news  came  from  Wittenberg  which  would 
not  suffer  him  .to  rest.  Protestantism  had  there 
assumed  an  ultra  form.  Carlstadt,  one  of  the 
pastors,  was  preaching  against  Luther's  doctrine  of 
the  Lord's  Supper.  x\ccording  to  his  theory  Christ 
at  the  moment  of  the  institution  pointed  to  his  own 
body,  and  said:  "This  is  my  body."  This  view 
^vhich  was  peculiarly  offensive  to  Luther,  was  not 
accepted  by  any  other  reformer,  but  it  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  beginning  of  the  great  Sacramenta- 
rian  controversy.  Simultaneously  a  fanatical  sect, 
known  as  "the  Zwickan  prophets"  had  established 
itself  in  Wittenberg.  They  were  preaching  strange 
doctrines,  such  as  community  of  goods,  opposition 
to  civil  government,  and  the  personal  inspiration  of 
their  leaders.      Luther  was  convinced  that  if  these 


64  LEADERS  OF  THE  RE  FORM  A  TION. 

fanatics  were  suffered  to  continue  unrebuked  his 
own  work  would  be  irretrievably  ruined,  and  he, 
therefore,  immediately  returned  to  Wittenberg. 

On  the  way  I^uther  was  met  at  a  wayside  inn  by 
two  Swiss  students,  one  of  whom  (John  Kessler)  has 
left  a  description  of  his  personal  appearance.  He 
says  :  "  When  I  saw  Martin  in  the  year  1522  he  was 
pretty  stout,  of  upright  bearing,  bending  more 
backwards  than  forwards,  with  elevated  counte- 
nance, and  deep  black  eyes,  sparkling  and  flashing 
like  a  star,  penetrating  to  the  very  soul  of  the  be- 
holder."  Not  less  than  a  dozen  cotemporary 
writers  have  spoken  of  the  wonderful  eyes  of  the 
Reformer,  but  not  a  single  artist  has  been  able  to 
catch  their  expression.  « 

When  Luther  returned  to  Wittenberg  he  preached 
eight  days  in  succession,  but  by  the  end  of  that 
time  the  power  of  the  fanatics  was  broken.  "  When 
they  left  Wittenberg,"  he  says,  I  warned  their  God 
not  to  work  any  miracles  against  my  God,  and  thus 
we  separated."^ 

At  this  period  Luther's  star  stood  at  the  zenith 
and  his  courage  was  unbounded.  Henry  VIII. , 
king  of  England,  wrote  a  book  against  him — the 
^^  Defense  of  the  Seven  Sacraments" — for  which 
the  pope  rewarded  him  with  the  title  of  "  Defender 
of  the  Faith."  In  reply  Luther  read  him  such  a 
lecture    as    had    never   before    been    addressed    to 

(i)  Kostlin's  "  Life,"  p.  250. 


MAh'T[.\  LI  TUl.R.  65 

royalty.  He  called  him  ''a  crowned  donkey''  and 
heaped  npon  him  the  most  a])nsive  epithets." 
Afterwards  when  there  was  a  chance  of  gaining 
Henry  VHI.  for  the  Reformation,  Luther  was  anx- 
ious to  make  friends,  but  the  king  haughtih'  re- 
fused. It  was  well  that  Luther's  purpose  was  not 
accomplished,  for  the  English  despot  got  no  more 
than  he  deserved,  and  could  not  have  touched  the 
Reformer's  work  without  defilingr  it. 

It  was  in  the  year  1525  that  the  event  occurred 
which  Luther  regarded  as  the  most  important  in 
his  career.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  the  terrors  of 
the  Peasant  War  that  he  surprised  his  friends  by 
marrying  a  poor  nun  of  noble  descent,  Catharine 
von  Bora.  He  said  he  did  it  "  to  please  his  father, 
to  tease  the  pope,  and  to  vex  the  devil."  His  highest 
motive  was  to  rescue  the  ordinance  of  marriage 
from  the  degradation  into  which  it  had  fallen,  and 
to  vindicate  the  freedom  of  the  evangelical  clergy. 

It  has  been  remarked  as  a  curious  fact  that  most 
of  the  Reformers,  though  themselves  of  humble 
extraction,  chose  brides  from  the  nobility.  The 
reason  is  not  far  to  seek  ;  there  was  in  those  days 
little  or  no  culture  among  the  women  of  the  humble 
classes,  and  educated  men  naturally  sought  suitable 
companions.  I  do  not  regard  these  marriages,  as 
some  have  done,  as  indicating  a  desire  on  the  part 


(2)  SchaflTs  "  Historj'  of  the  Christian  Church,"  vol.  o,  p.  39- 


66  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

of  the   Reformers   to  strengthen   their  position  by 
alliances  with  the  aristocracy. 

Luther's  married  life  was  exceptionally  happy. 
His  wife  was  rather  proud,  and  he  playfully  called 
her  "  My  lord  Katie."  A  year  after  his  marriage 
he  wrote  to  a  friend:  '^Catharine,  my  dear  rib, 
salutes  you.  She  is,  thanks  be  to  God,  in  excellent 
health.  She  is  gentle  and  obedient  beyond  my 
hopes.  I  would  not  exchange  my  poverty  for 
the  wealth  of  Croesus."  When  children  gathered 
around  his  table  his  happiness  increased,  and 
nothing  could  be  more  charming  than  the  letters 
which  he  wrote  to  his  v/iie  and  children  when 
absent  from  home.  ^ 


(i)  The  following  letter,  which  Froude  calls  the  prettiest  ever  addressed 
by  a  father  to  a  child,  was  written  by  Luther  to  his  son  Hans,  then  four 
years  old,  in  the  year  1530  : 

"  Grace  and  peace  in  Christ,  my  dear  little  boy.  I  am  pleased  to  see 
that  thou  learnest  thy  lessons  well,  and  prayest  diligently.  Go  on  thus,  my 
dear  boy,  and  when  I  come  home  I  will  bring  you  a  fine  fairing.  I  know 
of  a  pretty  delightful  garden,  where  are  many  children  that  have  gold 
frocks  and  gather  nice  apples  and  pears,  cherries  and  plums,  under  the 
trees  and  sing  and  jump  and  are  happy  ;  they  also  ride  on  fine  little  horses 
with  gold  bridles  and  silver  saddles.  I  asked  the  man  who  owns  the 
garden,  who  the  children  were.  He  said,  '  These  are  the  children  who  love 
to  prav  and  to  learn  and  are  good.'  Then  I  said,  '  Dear  man,  I  also  have  a 
son  who  is  called  Hans  Luther.  May  he  not  come  to  this  garden  and  eat 
such  prettv  apples  and  pears,  and  ride  on  such  fine  little  horses,  and  play 
with  these  children  ?'  The  man  said,  '  If  he  likes  to  pray  and  to  learn,  and 
is  pious  he  may  come  to  the  garden,  and  Lippus  and  Jo.st  may  come  also  ; 
and  if  they  alfcome  together,  they  shall  have  pipes  and  drums  and  lutes 
and  fiddles,  and  they  shall  dance  and  shoot  with  their  cross-bows.' 

"  Then  he  showed  me  a  smooth  lawn  in  the  garden  laid  out  for  dancing, 
and  there  hung  the  golden  pipes  and  drums  and  cro.ss-bows.  But  it  was 
still  early,  and  the  children  had  not  dined  ;  therefore  I  could  not  wait  tor 
the  dance.  So  I  said,  '  Dear  sir,  I  will  go  straight  home  and  write  all  this 
to  my  little  boy  ;  but  he  has  an  aunt,  Lena,  that  he  must  bring  with  him.' 
And  the  man  answered,  '  So  it  shall  be  ;  go  and  write  as  you  say.' 

"  Therefore,  dear  little  boy  Johnny,  learn  and  rray  with  a  good  heart, 
and  tell  Lippus  and  Jost  to  do  the  same,  and  then  you  will  all  cometo  the 
garden  together.  And  now  I  commend  you  to  Almighty  God.  Give  my 
love  to  aunt  Lena,  and  give  her  a  kiss  for  me.     Anno  1530. 

"  Thy  loving  father, 

"  Martinus  Luther." 


M.Ux'  77 N  L  UTIIER.  67 

Thouf^h  Luther  was  poor  his  board  was  always 
adorned  with  guests.  Several  students,  to  whom 
he  had  given  a  place  at  his  tal)le,  took  notes  of  his 
conversation  and  may  have  abused  his  confidence 
by  publishing  the  strange  l)Ook  which  is  known  as 
"  Luther's  Table  Talk."  There  is  much  in  it  that 
we  could  wish  had  remained  unwritten  ;  but  it  also 
contains  many  gems  of  wisdom  and  truth. 

We  have  but  touched  on  a  few  of  the  main 
events  of  Luther's  life.  There  are  other  occurren- 
ces, no  less  brilliant,  which  we  must  pass  in  silence. 
His  relations  to  Zwingli  will  be  considered  here- 
after. His  position  as  a  theologian,  a  poet,  an 
organizer,  an  educator,  even  as  a  statesman,  would 
each  demand  a  separate  essay. 

There  is,  however,  another  side  to  the  picture 
which  demands  brief  contemplation.  Luther  was 
a  man,  and  as  such  was  exposed  to  the  temptations 
which  are  common  to  humanity.  There  are  spots 
on  the  sun,  and  it  would  be  folly  to  expect  immacu- 
late brightness  ever  in  the  man  whom  we  have  ven- 
tured to  call  the  Glory  of  the  Reformation. 

Let  us  say,  first  of  all,  that  we  place  no  confidence 
in  the  stories  which  reflect  on  Luther's  personal 
character.  Erasmus  was  responsible  for  some  of 
these,  but  the  controversialists  who  have  utilized 
them  to  the  utmost  do  not  state  that  he  afterwards 
confessed  that  he  had  been  misinformed.  Every 
one    of  Luther's    steps    was    watched   by    vigilant 


68  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

enemies,  and  if  he  had  been  guilty  of  scandalous 
conduct  it  would  at  any  time  have  been  easy  to 
prove  it. 

The  chief  defect  in  Luther's  character  we  con- 
ceive to  have  been  almost  inseparable  from  his 
gigantic  strength.  The  wonderful  success  that 
attended  his  efforts  appears  to  have  gradually  con- 
vinced him  that  he  was  right  and  he  alone.  In  his 
later  years,  especially,  he  might  almost  have  said  : 

"  I  am  Sir  Oracle 
And  when  I  ope  my  lips  let  no  dog  bark  ". 

He  had  so  many  opponents  who  sought  the  de- 
struction of  everything  which  he  regarded  as  good 
and  true,  that  he  included  all  who  did  not  agree 
with  him  in  one  common  condemnation. 

To  keep  the  German  princes  firm  in  their  adhesion 
to  the  evangelical  cause  was  no  easy  matter. 
IvUther  was,  therefore,  almost  forced  to  become  a 
politician,  and  it  is  from  this  point  of  view  that  his 
career  is  least  satisfactory.  He  resigned  the 
government  of  the  church  into  the  hands  of  princes, 
and  thus  led  the  way  to  the  system — sometimes 
called  Ccusareo-papism  which  still  prevails  in  Ger- 
many. During  the  Peasant  War — though  he 
sympathized  with  the  sufferings  of  the  people — he 
preached  unconditional  submission,  and  even  ad- 
vised that  extreme  punishment  should  be  inflicted 
on  the  rebels — advice  which  the  princes  were  only 


M.iNTix  ij'riii:k\  69 

too  ready  to  take.  It  is  true  that  Lutlicr  was  con- 
sistently opposed  to  the  use  of  carnal  weapons  in 
the  advancement  of  tlie  kinj^^doni  of  Ood.  At  an 
earlier  date  Hutten  had  tried  his  JK-st  to  incite  him 
to  deeds  of  violence,  and  Sickinoen  and  his  kni,[,dits 
were  ready  to  fight  for  him  at  a  moment's  notice  ; 
but  he  never  doubted  that  those  who  take  up 
the  sword  shall  perish  by  the  sword,  and  the  event 
proved  that  he  was  right.  No  doubt  the  cause 
of  the  peasants  was  hopeless  from  the  beginning  ; 
and  it  may  be  true  that  the  position  taken  by 
Luther  saved  the  cause  of  the  Reformation  ;  but 
yet  we  could  wish  that  in  those  dreadful  days  the 
voice  of  the  great  Reformer  had  been  heard  plead- 
ing for  mercy. 

The  presentation  of  the  Augsburg  Confession  in 
1530  may  be  said  to  have  concluded  the  formative 
period  of  the  German  Reformation.  In  later  years 
Luther  was  chiefly  occupied  in  organizing  the 
church  and  in  promoting  the  cause  of  Christian 
education.  He  soon,  however,  manifested  signs  of 
physical  weakness,  and  for  some  years  suffered  in- 
tensely from  a  complication  of  diseases.  He  him- 
self said,  in  a  letter  to  Amsdorff:  "I  believe  my 
true  malady  to  be  old  age  ;  and  next  to  this  my 
overpowering  labors  and  thoughts,  but  mainly  the 
buffeting  of  Satan  ;  and  all  the  physic  in  the  world 
cannot  cure  me  of  them.  *  *  *  j  am  weak  and 
weary  of  life  and  think  of  biddinor  farewell  to  the 


70  LEADERS  OF  THE  RE  FORM  A  TION. 

world.  May  the  Lord  grant  me  favorable  weather 
and  a  happy  passage.      Amen." 

By  a  strange  coincidence  Luther  died  at  Eisleben, 
the  village  of  his  birth.  He  had  gone  to  that  place 
to  settle  a  quarrel  between  the  counts  of  Mansfeld, 
to  whom,  as  a  native  of  the  territory,  he  still 
acknowledged  a  certain  allegiance.  During  the 
three  weeks  which  he  spent  at  Eisleben  he  accom- 
plished the  purpose  of  his  journey,  preached  four 
times,  and  revised  the  ecclesiastical  constitution  of 
the  county  of  Mansfeld.  Then  his  strength  gave 
way,  and  after  an  illness  of  two  days  he  died  on  the 
1 8th  of  February,  1546.  His  last  words  were  an 
acknowledgment  that  he  died  in  the  faith  which  he 
had  professed  and  taught.  His  body  was  taken  to 
Wittenberg  in  a  metallic  coffin,  where  it  was  in- 
terred with  the  highest  honors  at  the  foot  of  the 
pulpit  in  the  Castle  church.  On  his  tomb  might 
have  been  written  :  "  Here  lies  a  man  who  feared 
God  and  God  alone." 

Our  view  of  the  person  of  Luther  has  necessarily 
been  incomplete.  In  his  career  there  are  events 
which  we  could  wish  to  have  been  otherwise  ;  but 
we  owe  too  much  to  him  to  occupy  the  position  of 
antagonists.  As  Heine  says:  "The  dwarf  who 
stands  on  the  shoulders  of  the  giant  can,  indeed, 
see  further  than  the  giant,  especially  if  he  puts  on 
spectacles  ;  but  for  that  lofty  point  of  intuition  we 
want  the  lofty  feeling,  the  giant  heart,  which  we 


MAN  TIN  IJ'TIHIR.  71 

can  not  make  onr  own."  In  liis  personal it\-  Lntlier 
combines  the  most  colossal  antitheses — the  L-^looni 
of  the  past  with  the  brilliant  activity  of  the  future  ; 
but  with  all  these  apparent  contradictions  he  must 
forever  remain  The  Glory  of  the  Reformation. 


III. 

THE  FREE  CHURCH  IN  THE  FREE  STATE. 

ULRIC  ZWINGLI. 

rT'>HE  little  republic  of  Switzerland  rests  like  a 
I  golden  crown  on  the  head  of  the  nations  of 
-^  Europe.  The  surpassing  grandeur  of  its 
scenery  is  universally  acknowledged.  Its  mountains 
are  the  highest ;  its  valleys  the  greenest  ;  its  gla- 
ciers the  grandest  ;  its  prospects  the  most  romantic. 
Grander  still  to  the  thoughtful  stranger  is  the  spec- 
tacle of  a  simple,  unpretentious  people,  who  in  the 
darkness  of  the  middle  ages  solved  the  problem  of 
self-government,  and  for  nearly  six  centuries  have 
boldly  defended  the  rights  of  man. 

As  you  sail  down  the  lake  of  Lucerne — directly 
opposite  the  great  cliff  called  the  Mytenstein, 
which  bears  in  colossal  letters  an  inscription  in 
honor  of  Friedrich  Schiller  w^hose  poetry  has  glori- 
fied all  that  region — you  behold  the  Rlitli,  the 
meadow  in  the  forest  where  in  the  night  of  No- 
vember 17,  1307,  ''the  three  men,"  Flirst,  Stauff- 
acher  and  Melchthal,  each  accompanied  by  ten  men 
of  his  own  canton,  solemnly  swore,  with  three 
fingers  uplifted  in  the  name  of  the  Trinity,  to 
defend  the  freedom  of  their  native  land.  ^  Within 
a  few  weeks  of  this  event,  according  to  tradition, 

(1)  This  "conjuration"  was,  in  fact,  a  renewal  of  "the  eternal  com- 
pact," established  August  i,  1291. 


I'LRIC  ZU'/yCLI 


73 


occurred  the  episode  of  William  Tell — the  brave 
hunter  who  was  compelled  by  the  wicked  f^overnor, 
Gessler  of  Bruneck,  to  shoot  an  apple  from  the 
head  of  his  son,  and  who  afterwards  buried  the 
second  arrow  in  the  heart  of  the  tyrant.  Histori- 
ans now  discredit  the  tale,  but  it  is  at  least  expres- 
sive of  the  spirit  of  the  forest  cantons.  On  the 
first  of  January,  1308,  the  Austrian  bailiffs  were 
driven  out  ;  and  it  is  the  boast  of  vSwitzerland  that 
this  act  of  emancipation  was  accomplished  without 
shedding  a  drop  of  blood  ;  but  two  hundred  years 
passed  away  before  independence  was  actually 
achieved,  and  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  more 
until  the  Swiss  were  formally  recognized  as  one  of  the 
nations  of  Europe.  During  all  this  time  they  w^ere 
almost  constantly  at  war.  At  Morgarten  1600 
Swiss  defeated  nearly  11,000  Austrians.  On  sev- 
eral occasions  they  enticed  their  enemies  into  a  nar- 
row valley  and  then  rolled  down  rocks  on  the  heads 
of  the  invaders.  No  nation  has  a  more  splendid 
roll  of  victories,  and  Sempach,  Laupen,  Granson 
and  Morat  will  never  be  forgotten.  You  have 
heard  the  story  of  Arnold  Winckelried — how  he 
cast  himself  upon  the  line  of  Austrian  spears,  cry- 
ing :  "Make  w^ay  for  liberty  !"  but  every  conflict 
was  succeeded  by  another,  and  after  every  victory 
it  might  have  been  said  : 

"  Thus  Switzerland  again  was  free  ; 
Thus  death  made  way  for  liberty." 


74  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

After  many  fruitless  invasions  the  tyrants  were  at 
last  convinced  that  Switzerland  could  not  be  con- 
quered, though  they  kept  on  growling  at  the  foot 
of  the  Alps.  The  mountains  constituted  an  im- 
pregnable fortress  and  all  the  power  of  the  empire 
could  not  dislodge  its  garrison.  The  wants  of  the 
people  were  few.  On  their  high  Alpine  pastures 
flocks  could  safely  feed,  and  the  lakes  furnished 
abundance  of  fish.  The  whole  country  might  be 
blockaded,  but  the  Swiss  cared  little  for  communi- 
cation with  other  nations  and  could  afford  to  wait 
until  the  enemy  withdrew. 

It  was  but  natural  that  Switzerland  should  becomxe 
a  refuge  for  the  oppressed  and  persecuted.  Not  only 
political  offenders,  but  those  who  had  exposed  them- 
selves to  ecclesiastical  censures  were  glad  to  escape 
to  the  valleys  of  the  Alps.  The  church  of  Rome 
was  by  law  fully  established  ;  but  on  account  of  the 
political  condition  of  the  country  it  rarely  attempted 
to  press  its  authority  to  the  utmost  extent.  Except 
in  the  cities  the  poverty  of  the  people  was  regarded 
as  an  excuse  for  simplicity  of  worship,  and  the 
Swiss  actually  came  to  dislike  the  splendor  of  the 
Italian  ritual.  Even  among  the  priests  there  were 
many  who  sympathized  with  the  sufferings  of  the 
refugees  from  ecclesiastical  tyranny,  though  they 
may  not  have  ventured  to  accept  their  doctrines. 

It  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  kings  and 
nobles   of  surrounding  countries   would  favorably 


ULRIC  '/AVIXCLI.  75 

regard  a  country  in  which  tlicir  antlKjiity  was  so 
thoroughly  defied.  The  existence  of  tlie  vSwiss 
league  was  a  menace  to  royalty,  and  the  rulers  of 
Europe  hated  it  with  perfect  hatred.  Those  of  the 
Swiss  who  claimed  noble  descent  were  contempt- 
uously termed  "peasant-nobility,"  and  were  not 
permitted  to  appear  at  the  imperial  court.  Among 
the  German  peasants  the  Swiss  were  sufficiently 
popular ;  but  in  the  cities  and  at  the  universities 
the  influence  of  the  nobility  had  caused  them  to  be 
cordially  disliked.  Without  this  feeling,  we  feel 
sure,  the  Germans  would  have  been  more  ready  to 
cooperate  with  the  Swiss  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Reformation,  and  their  doctrinal  differences  might 
have  been  more  readily  adjusted. 

The  worst  feature  in  the  social  condition  of  the 
Swiss  in  the  sixteenth  century  was  due  to  their  mil- 
itary system.  Every  young  man  was  a  soldier,  and 
though  foreign  invasions  had  apparently  ceased,  no 
one  could  tell  how  soon  they  might  be  renewed. 
Under  these  circumstances  the  cantonal  govern- 
ments  conceived  the  idea  of  hiring  out  their  sol- 
diers as  mercenaries  to  foreign  powers,  wath  the 
condition  that  they  might  be  recalled  when  the 
safety  of  the  fatherland  demanded  it.  Swiss  com- 
panies were,  therefore,  often  arrayed  on  opposite 
sides,  and  brother  fought  against  brother. 

In  this  way  the  Swiss  acquired  the  reputation  of 
being   mercenary   and    avaricious,  though    no  one 


76  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

doubted  their  bravery.  The  worst  feature  of  the 
system  was  that  the  young  Swiss  were  apt  to  be 
morally  ruined  in  foreign  lands.  They  brought 
home  vices  that  spread  like  a  canker  in  their  native 
valleys.  Against  this  moral  evil  the  Swiss  Refor- 
mation was  at  first  partially  directed,  and  the  move- 
ment thus  became  political  as  well  as  ecclesiastical. 

The  Swiss  Reformation  was  a  drama  that  con- 
sisted of  two  distinct  acts.  It  was  synthetic  rather 
than  analytic.  No  single  teacher  commanded  the 
transcendent  influence  of  the  great  Saxon  reformer  ; 
but  in  each  act  there  was  a  leading  character  w^ho 
impressed  his  personality  on  his  cotemporaries,  and 
who  has  exerted  an  influence  through  all  succeed- 
ing ages.  The  leaders  in  the  successive  stages  of 
the  Swiss  Reformation  were  Zwingli  and  Calvin. 

Ulric  Zwingli,  the  hero  of  the  first  act,  was  born 
at  Wildhaus  on  the  ist  of  January,  1484.  His 
native  village  is  situated  in  what  was  then  the  inde- 
pendent county  of  Toggenburg,  but  is  now 
included  in  the  canton  of  St.  Gall.  It  stands  at 
the  head  of  a  mountain  valley  which  extends  far 
into  the  Alps.  The  ground  is  not  well  suited  for 
agriculture,  but  there  is  excellent  pasturage.  No 
doubt,  the  present  inhabitants  would  not  hesitate 
to  confess  that  their  outlook  is  better  than  their 
income. 

Ulric  was  the  third  (some  say  the  youngest)  of  a 
family  of  ten  children.      His  father  and  grandfather 


I  LRIC  /Al'IXCIJ.  77 

liad  held  tlie  office  of  "  aiiiinaii,"  or  local  jiid^^e  ; 
and  the  raiiiily,  thouj^li  un])retciitioiis,  was  cmi- 
iiently  respectable.  The  lioiise  in  which  they 
lived  is  still  standing^.  It  is  a  cJialct  of  the  better 
class,  with  some  ornamental  wood-carvino;,  but  not 
otherwise  remarkable. 

Zwingli's  father  and  mother  each  liad  a  brother 
who  was  eminent  in  the  church,  and  they  naturally 
desired  that  one,  at  least,  of  their  children  should 
choose  the  same  vocation. 

At  an  early  age  it  became  evident  that  Ulric  was 
gifted  with  extraordinary  talents.  When  stories  of 
Swiss  heroism  were  related  in  the  family  circle  they 
fell  like  sparks  upon  his  spirit,  and  left  it  glowing 
with  patriotic  enthusiasm.  Even  more  profound 
was  the  impression  made  upon  his  mind  by  the 
magnificent  scenery  that  surrounded  his  birth-place. 
"I  have  often  thought  in  my  simplicity,"  wrote 
his  friend  Oswald  Myconius,  long  afterwards,  "  that 
on  those  heights,  so  near  to  heaven,  Zwingli  as- 
sumed something  heavenly  and  divine.  When  the 
thunder  rolls  along  the  mountains  and  the  deep 
abysses  are  filled  with  its  reverberations,  we  seem 
to  hear  anew  the  voice  of  God,  saying,  '  I  am  the 
Almighty  God,  walk  in  my  presence  with  reverence 
and  fear. '  When  with  the  dawn  of  morninof  the 
glaciers  glow  wnth  rosy  light,  and  an  ocean  of  fire 
rolls  over  the  mountain- tops,  the  Lord  of  Hosts 
appears  to  stand  on  the  high-places  of  the  earth,  as 


78  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

though  the  hem  of  His  garment  glorified  the  moun- 
tains, while  we  hear  the  words  that  were  spoken  fo 
the  prophet  Isaiah  :  ^  Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God 
of  Sabaoth.  All  the  earth  is  full  of  Thy  glory  !'  " 
Ulric  was  but  nine  years  old  when  he  was  given 
in  charge  of  his  uncle  Bartholomew  Zwingli,  who 
was  dean  of  Wesen.  Under  his  direction  he 
received  the  best  education  which  the  age  afforded. 
The  celebrated  Lupulus  was  his  teacher,  and  as  he 
himself  said,  he  learned  to  speak  Latin  more  flu- 
ently than  he  spoke  his  mother  tongue.  He  also 
learned  to  play  all  the  musical  instruments  which 
were  then  known.  The  study  of  Greek  he  pursued 
with  great  enthusiasm,  and  actually  committed  the 
greater  part  of  the  New  Testament  to  memory  in 
the  original.  After  thorough  preliminary  training 
he  took  a  course  at  the  university  of  Vienna. 
Here,  after  the  fashion  of  the  times,  he  translated 
his  name  into  Cogitanus  ;  but  it  was  only  a  stu- 
dent's notion,  and  he  had  sense  enough  to  give  it 
up  after  he  left  the  institution.  Then  he  became  a 
tutor  in  the  Latin  school  at  Basel,  at  the  same  time 
attending  the  lectures  of  Thomas  Wyttenbach,  a 
celebrated  teacher  of  the  university,  who  was  the 
most  effective  instrument  in  preparing  the  way  for 
the  Reformation  in  Switzerland.  In  one  of  his  lec- 
tures this  professor  said:  "The  time  is  at  hand 
when  the  ancient  faith  shall  be  restored  according 
to  the   word  of  God.     Indulgences  are  a    Roman 


(7.h'/C  ZIV/ACL/.  -JC) 

delusion,  and  the  dcMlli  of  Christ  is  the  only  ranscjni 
for  our  sins." 

At  an  early  a^e  Zwingli  was  recognized  as  one  of 
the  foremost  scholars  in  Switzerland.  He  was,  how- 
ever, no  scholastic  recluse,  but  a  strong  and  ener- 
getic man  of  the  world.  The  only  portrait  in  ex- 
istence dates  from  a  later  period,  when  lines  of 
thought  and  trouble  had  begun  to  appear  upon  his 
forehead.  It  was  painted  by  a  local  artist,  and  is 
rather  a  poor  affair  ;  but  it  confirms  the  statement 
of  cotemporaries  that  Zwingli  was  at  this  time  a 
model  of  manly  beauty.  Taller  than  most  of  his 
countrymen,  he  was  as  strong  as  a  Gre^^k  athlete 
and  as  bold  as  a  lion.  He  was  familiar  with  the 
customs  of  the  upper  classes,  and  at  first  sight  his 
manner  appeared  somewhat  haughty  ;  but  when  he 
opened  his  lips  he  drew  all  men  to  him,  for  his 
eloquence  was  irresistible.  He  entered  the  priest- 
hood, apparently  without  the  spiritual  conflict 
through  which  Luther  was  called  to  pass  ;  and  it 
seems  to  have  been  his  purpose  to  devote  his  life 
chiefly  to  classical  learning.  In  1506  he  became 
pastor  of  a  church  in  Glarus,  where  he  remained 
ten  years,  the  idol  of  his  people.  There  was  no 
pretence  of  extraordinary  piety,  but  he  was  emi- 
nently truthful.  In  his  boyhood  he  had  written  in 
his  diary  :  "  Truth  is  the  highest  virtue  ;  lying  is 
worse  than  stealing."  He  had  no  secrets,  and  it 
seemed   as   if  every  one  who  gazed  into  his  clear 


8o  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

blue  eyes  could  behold  the  depths  of  his  soul. 
Twice  during  this  period  he  accompanied  Swiss 
troops  to  Italy  as  a  chaplain.  Here  he  saw  the 
wickedness  that  pervaded  the  land,  and  by  his  own 
confession  was  for  a  time  carried  away  by  the  pre- 
vailing flood  of  luxury  and  licentiousness.  He 
caused  no  scandal,  and  was  regarded  as  more  moral 
than  his  associates ;  but,  curiously  enough,  the 
universality  of  wickedness  roused  him  to  a  sense  of 
imminent  danger.  About  the  same  time  he  found 
an  ancient  copy  of  the  mass-book  and  to  his  great 
surprise  discovered  that  a  few  centuries  earlier  it 
had  been  usual  to  give  bread  and  wine  to  communi- 
cants, instead  of  bread  alone.  "Can  the  church," 
he  asked  himself,  "  which  claims  to  be  unchange- 
able and  yet  makes  such  alterations  in  its  liturgy 
possess  the  fundamental  element  of  truth?"  In 
brief  the  contemplation  of  these  elements  directed 
him  to  the  real  significance  of  the  Scriptures  with 
whose  letter  he  was  already  so  familiar.  The  pope 
had  granted  him  a  pension  so  that  he  might  devote 
himself  entirely  to  classical  study  ;  but  the  authors 
of  Greece  and  Rome  had  lost  their  zest,  the  praises 
of  men  seemed  utter  vanity,  and  like  another 
Moses  he  renounced  the  pleasures  of  the  world  to 
devote  his  life  to  the  deliverance  of  his  people.  In 
later  years  the  tongue  of  slander  did  not  venture  to 
impugn  the  sincerity  of  his  motives  nor  the  purity 
of  his  life.      Even  Audin,  the  most  bitter  of  Roman 


VLRIC  /.WL\'(^JJ.  8 1 

Catholic  coiilruvcrsialists,  wlio  unjustly  accuses  the 
other  reformers  of  a  lack  of  sincerity,  confesses  that 
Zwingli  was  thorouL;lily  lionest. 

In  15 16  Zwingli  became  parish  priest  of  the 
great  convent  of  Einsiedlen,  the  center  of  Romanism 
in  Switzerland.  This  was  regarded  as  a  place  of 
special  holiness.  Over  the  portal  was  the  inscrip- 
tion :  "  Here  is  complete  forgiveness  for  all  possi- 
ble transgressions."  The  convent  itself  is  said  to 
have  been  founded  in  the  tenth  century  by  St. 
Meinrad,  a  reputed  ancestor  of  the  great  house  of 
Hohenzollern.  It  contained  a  statue  of  the  Virgin 
Mary  which  was  said  to  be  miraculous,  and  more 
than  a  hundred  thousand  pilgrims  came  annually 
to  worship  at  its  shrine.  The  abbot,  Conrad 
von  Rechberg,  was  an  excellent  old  man  who 
longed  for  the  reformation  of  the  church.  He 
was  the  younger  son  of  a  noble  house,  and  had 
been  forced  into  the  convent  to  make  room  for  the 
advancement  of  others.  Now  that  he  had  become 
a  great  personage  his  relatives  sued  for  his  favor, 
but  he  turned  them  away  and  gave  his  goods  to 
charity.  When  reproved  for  refusing  to  say  mass, 
he  said  :  "Either  the  host  is  my  God  or  it  is  not. 
If  it  is  my  God  I  am  unworthy  to  look  upon  him, 
much  less  to  touch  him ;  if  it  is  not  my  God  I  will 
not  lend  myself  to  the  dissemination  of  error." 

Under  the  patronage  of  this  man,  Zwingli  began 
to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  pilgrims  of  Einsiedlen. 


82  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

He  told  them  that  the  blessed  Virgin  would  her- 
^self  repudiate  the  worship  of  her  image,  and  that 
Christ  alone  can  save  the  world.  Thousands  of 
pilgrims  received  the  word  with  rejoicing,  and 
returned  to  their  homes  bearing  the  message  of  a 
newly-found  Gospel. 

While  thus  engaged  Zwingli  appealed  earnestly 
to  the  authorities  of  the  church  of  Rome  to  make 
way  for  the  progress  of  the  truth.  We  have 
records  of  his  piteous  pleadings,  in  the  early  part 
of  1 51 7,  with  Cardinal  Schinner,  the  Bishop  of 
Constance,  and  others,  assuring  them  that  if  the 
church  did  not  welcome  the  Gospel  it  would  make 
way  for  itself.  Instead  of  accepting  this  advice  the 
hierarchy  committed  the  blunder — the  crime — of 
attempting  to  bribe  the  fearless  herald  of  the  truth. 
When  the  papal  legate  was  asked  what  Zwingli 
might  hope  to  gain  if  he  took  the  side  of  the  pope, 
he  replied:  "He  might  have  anything  he  asked 
for  short  of  the  papal  crown  itself."  When  Zwingli 
was  called  to  the  chief  pastorate  of  the  cathedral 
church  of  Zurich,  it  was  not  in  ignorance  of  his 
position  but  because  he  was  already  recognized  as 
the  leader  of  the  Swiss  Reformation. 

The  question  concerning  the  relative  priority  of 
the  German  and  Swiss  reformers  has  frequently 
been  asked  but  is  of  little  real  importance.  We 
may  believe  Zwingli  when  he  says  that  he  preached 
the  Gospel  in  15 16  as  purely  as  he  ever  did  in  later 


ULRIC  ZWINGLI.  83 

years,  but  so  did  many  of  his  associates.  Tlie 
Reformation  in  Switzerland  proceeded  more  quietly 
than  iu  Germany  ;  there  was  no  j^reat  event  to  in- 
auo^uratc  it,  like  the  nailing  of  the  theses  ta  the 
church-door  at  Wittenberg.  Saxony  and  Switzer- 
land were  in  those  days  widely  separated,  and  there 
is  no  room  to  doubt  that  Zwingli  and  Luther  never 
knew  of  each  other's  existence  until  long  after  the 
most  important  steps  had  been  taken.  Zwiiigli 
recognized  Erasmus  a_s  his  chief  leader  and  teacher, 
though  in  later  life  their  paths  parted.  He  was 
inclined  to  the  HQmanists  ;  Luther  to  the  Mystics. 
Zwingli's  movement  was  at  first  mainly  disciplin- 
ary ;  Luther  was  above  all  things  a  theologian. 
Goebel  says:  "The  German  Reformation  began 
simultaneously  and  independently  at  the  opposite 
extreme  of  German  life  and  culture — at  the  Slavo- 
nian boundary  and  at  the  foot  of  the  Alps — and 
thence  spread  until  it  met  at  the  Rhine,  the  center 
of  Germanic  life.  "^ 

It  could  not  be  otherwise  than  that  the  system 
and  organization  of  the  church  in  Germany  and 
Switzerland  should  differ  widely.  In  Germany  the 
church  was  under  the  cantrol  of  princes  who  for- 
mally assumed  the  office  of  bishop.  The  Swiss  had 
no  love  for  bishops  and  were  not  even  enthusiastic 
in  their  attachment  to  the  emperor.      Zwingli  said  : 

(i)  Geschichle  des  christlichen  Lcbens,  i,  p.  275. 


84  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

"The  empire  and  the  papacy,  both  come  from 
Rome" — he  wished  the  world  was  well  rid  of  both 
of  them.  It  may,  indeed,  be  said  that  even  in 
Switzerland  the  church  was  governed  by  the  state 
in  a  manner  that  would  prove  offensive  to  modern 
Americans  ;  but  it  should  be  remembered  that  the 
state  was  itself  the  creation  of  the  people.  After 
the  Reformation  the  Swiss  chose  their  own  pastors, 
while  those  of  Germany  were  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernment. The  organization  of  the  Swiss  church 
was,  therefore,  thoroughly  popular,  and  we  have  in 
Switzerland  the  first  example  of  the  free  church^iu 
the  free  state. 

On  his  thirty-sixth  birthday  (Jan.  i,  151 9) 
Zwingli  took  charge  of  the  cathedral  church  of 
Zurich.  He  proved  himself  a  faithful  pastor,  for 
whom  nothing  was  too  insignificant  to  claim  his 
cordial  sympathy.  This  was  especially  apparent  in 
151 9,  during  the  prevalence  of  the  great  plague. 
He  had  gone  to  the  mineral  springs  at  Pfafifers  on 
account  of  impaired  health,  but  when  the  plague 
broke  out  nothing  could  keep  him  from  his  post. 
During  that  dreadful  summer  2500  people  died  in 
Zurich  alone,  and  Zwingli  was  almost  alone  in 
ministering  to  the  dying  and  in  burying  the  dead. 
At  last  he  was  himself  seized  by  the  pestilence,  and 
it  was  at  one  time  believed  that  he  could  not  re- 
cover.    During  his  illness  he  composed  a  beautiful 


UL  RIC  Z  WINGL  /.  85 

hymn  in   llircc  parts,  of  which  the  first  has   been 
thus  translated  : 


"Help  mc,  O  Lord, 

My  strength  and  rock 
Lo,  at  the  door 

I  hear  death's  knock. 
Uplift  Thine  arm, 

Once  pierced  for  me. 
That  conquered  death 

And  set  me  free. 


Yet,  if  Thy  voice 

In  life's  mid-day 
Recalls  my  soul, 

Then  I  obey. 
In  faith  and  hope 

Earth  I  resign, 
Secure  of  heaven, 

For  I  am  thine." 


On  his  recovery  Zwingli  engaged  actively  in  the 
reformation  of  the  church.  It  is  often  said  that 
his  methods  were  too  radical,  and  in  support  of  this 
assertion  it  is  urged  that  he  removed  works  of  art 
from  the  churches  and  prohibited  singing  and  the 
use  of  the  organ. 

If  you  would  see  the  pictures  which  Zwingli  re- 
moved from  the  churches  you  can  do  so  by  visiting 
the  museum  at  Zurich,  where  they  are  still  pre- 
served. These  works  of  art  (save  the  mark  !)  do 
not  represent  scriptural  scenes  or  teach  religious 
lessons.  They  represent,  as  a  rule,  mediaeval 
legends  which  are  neither  edifying  nor  instructive. 
So    Zwingli    forbade  singing,  did   he  ?     Yes !    but 


86  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

what  kind  of  singing  was  it?  It  was  nothing  but 
the  sing-song  of  the  mass,  of  which  Pope  Leo  was 
so  ashamed  that  he  seriously  considered  the  pro- 
priety of  ordering  the  service  to  be  recited  in  a 
natural  tone  of  voice.  It  was  not  until  the  next 
generation  that  Palestrina  introduced  the  reforms 
which  allied  music  to  the  service  of  the  church  of 
Rome.  There  were  in  those  days  no  hymns  in  the 
vernacular — even  the  grand  old  Latin  hymns  were 
merely  mumbled  in  a  perfunctory  fashion.  The 
nearest  approach  to  the  modern  hymn  may,  pos- 
sibly, be  found  in  the  curious  macaronic  compo- 
sitions known  as  inischlieder ^  of  which  the  follow- 
ing stanza,  addressed  to  the  Virgin,  is  a  favorable 
example  : 

''Ave  maris  siella— Star  of  the  sea  ; 
Tu  verbi  Dei  cella—QAory  to  thee  ! 
Dei  fnater  alma — God  thou  didst  bear, 
Tti  virtutum palma — Virgin  most  fair." 

The  voice  of  song  was  for  some  time  silent  in  the 
Swiss  churches  ;  but  there  is  evidence  to  show  that 
a  version  of  the  Psalms  was  in  course  of  prepara- 
tion when  Zwingli  died. 

As  for  the  organ  it  was  a  very  different  afifair 
from  the  queen  of  the  instruments  with  which  we 
are  acquainted.  It  took  thirteen  men  to  tread  the 
bellows  of  the  organ  in  the  church  at  Zurich  ;  it 
was  played  with  the  fists  and  made  a  noise  like  a 
modern  steam   calliope.     In    the  next  generation 


ILRIC  ZWINCLI.  87 

the  oro^aii  was  perfected  ;  and  it  is  no  doubt  to  ])e  re- 
gretted that  it  was  banished  by  Zwingli,  for  sucli 
was  the  power  oi  prejudice  once  established  that 
it  was  not  until  the  present  century  that  the  city  of 
Berne  allowed  the  use  of  the  organ  in  its  parish 
churches. 

In  his  literary  labors  Zwingli  was  greatly  aided 
by  Leo  Juda,  his  old  friend  and  schoolmate  who 
had  become  his  assistant  in  Zurich.  This  man  was 
the  son  of  a  priest  in  Alsace  ;  mild  and  retiring  in 
disposition,  but  a  wonderful  literary  worker.  His 
relation  to  Zwingli  was  very  much  like  that  of 
Melancthon  to  Luther  and  of  Beza  to  Calvin.  It 
was  supposed  from  his  curious  name  that  he  must 
be  a  Jewish  convert,  but  this  was  a  mistake.  Juda 
himself  supposed  that  one  of  his  remote  ancestors 
must  have  been  a  Jew,  but  the  fact  could  not  be 
established.  He  translated  the  Old  Testament  into 
Latin,  and  was  the  chief  translator  of  the  German 
version  of  the  Scriptures  which  appeared  in  Zurich 
in  1530,  four  years  before  the  publication  of 
Luther's  complete  translation.  He  also  composed 
many  minor  works  and  assisted  Zwingli  in  all  his 
labors. 

As  for  Zwingli  himself,  in  the  short  space  of 
twelve  years  he  produced  eighty  German  and  fifty- 
nine  Latin  books,  not  to  mention  two  posthumous 
volumes.  During  the  Disputation  of  Baden,  it  is 
said,  he  did  not  go  to  bed  for  six  weeks.      He  was 


88  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

not  permitted  to  appear  personally  at  the  contro- 
versy, because  the  Catholics  insisted  that  his  won- 
derful eloquence  gave  the  evangelical  party  an  un- 
fair advantage  -^  but  Oecolampadius,  of  Basel,  was 
Zwingli's  representative,  and  at  night  the  delegates 
journeyed  secretly  to  Zurich  to  receive  instructions. 
Sometimes  the  nervous  strain  became  so  intense 
that  Zwingli  cried  out  :  "  Now  leave  me,  all  of  you, 
I  must  play  the  lute."  Then  for  a  while  sweet 
strains  of  music  were  heard,  but  when  the  troubled 
spirit  was  soothed,  the  delegates  were  called  into 
the  room,  and  the  work  went  on. 

During  this  time  Zwingli's  wife  was  kept  busy 
preparing  a  collation  for  her  midnight  guests. 
Concerning  her  personal  characteristics  little  is 
known,  but  it  is  evident  that  she  sought  to  do  her 
duty  as  a  pastor's  wife.  The  story  of  her  marriage 
to  Zwingli  is  unusually  interesting.  She  had  been 
a  poor  girl  of  good  family,  intellectual  and  beau- 
tiful. A  young  nobleman,  Meyer  von  Knonau, 
had  loved  and  married  her  ;  but  his  proud  father 
refused  to  recognize  the  union,  and  the  youthful 
bridegroom  was  forced  to  seek  service  in  foreign 
lands,  where  he  died  leaving  one  son,  Gerold,  a 
pledge  of  his  ill-fated  love.  The  beautiful  boy 
drew  all  hearts  to  him,   and  even  his  old  grand- 


(i)  Some  writers  assert  that  the  authorities  of  Zurich  did  not  permit 
Zwingli  to  go  to  Baden  because  it  had  become  known  that  his  enemies  had 
formed  a  plan  to  assassinate  him. 


i'LRIC  /AVIXCLI.  89 

father,  when  lie  beheld  him,  opened  wide  his  arms. 
The  yonni;  widow  and  her  son  were  now  recognized 
by  their  relatives,  and  Gcrold  was  happy.  To  this 
boy  Zwingli  was  irresistibly  attracted  ;  and  for  him 
he  drew  np  rnles  of  education  which  were  long 
afterwards  observed  in  the  Swiss  schools.  It  was 
the  boy  who  introduced  Zwingli  to  his  mother,  and 
in  due  time  she  became  his  faithful  help-mate. 
Though  her  labors  were  mainly  domestic  she  held 
women's  meetings  and  taught  the  poor  to  sew. 
Four  children  blessed  her  second  marriage.  The 
eldest  daughter,  Regula,  used  to  say  in  later  years 
that  the  most  she  remembered  concerning  her  father 
was  that  in  the  evening  he  played  the  lute  and 
joined  with  her  mother  in  singing  spiritual  songs  of 
his  own  composition.  The  family  life  was  earnest 
and  solemn.  There  was  none  of  the  table-talk  that 
has  rendered  the  home-life  of  Luther  so  interesting 
to  subsequent  generations. 

During  the  twelve  years  which  Zwingli  spent  in 
Zurich  he  was  almost  constantly  engaged  in  religious 
controversy.  His  conflicts  with  the  Roman  Cath- 
olics were  in  his  judgment  less  violent  than  others 
in  which  he  was  subsequently  engaged.  When  the 
monk  Samson — another  Tetzel — came  to  Zurich,  a 
few  sermons  by  Zwingli  induced  him  to  drive  away 
towards  Italy  ''in  a  wagon  drawn  by  three  horses 
and  loaded  with  gold. "  The  sale  of  indulgences  in 
Switzerland  was  a  mere  episode,  not  an  epoch  as  it 


90  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

had  been  in  Germany.  There  were  extreme  Cath- 
olics who  were  bitterly  opposed  to  Zwingli's  meth- 
ods, and  his  life  was  several  times  attempted  ;  but 
it  seemed  as  if  Rome  had  for  the  time  been  par- 
alyzed. It  took  some  time  before  the  old  man  of 
the  Vatican  could  pull  on  his  boots. 

According  to  Zwingli's  own  statements  his  dis- 
putations with  the  Romanists  were  but  child's  play 
compared  with  his  contests  v/ith  the  Anabaptists, 
We  have  already  met  with  these  people  in  Witten-  MjL  p> 
berg  ;  now  they  came  to  Switzerland  for  the  pur- 
pose of  setting  up  their  new  Jerusalem.  Miinzer 
and  Carlstadt  were  there  with  the  avowed  intention 
of  fighting  Zwingli.  Carlstadt  after  a  while  sobered 
down  ;  but  Miinzer,  with  his  learning  and  fanatical 
enthusiasm,  was  a  dreadful  antagonist.  Accom- 
panying these  leaders  was  a  multitude  of  unedu- 
cated fanatics,  dressed  in  peculiar  garments,  and 
marching  through  the  streets,  crying  aloud  :  "  Woe  ! 
Woe!  Woe  unto  Zurich!"  ''For  a  time,"  says 
Kbrard,  "it  seemed  as  if  the  whole  evangelical 
church  of  Switzerland  had  gone  over  to  the  Ana- 
baptists, and  Zwingli  was  left  to  fight  them  single- 
handed." 

It  might  naturally  be  supposed  that  the  question 
of  infant  baptism  was  the  main  subject  of  discus- 
sion ;  but  all  authorities  agree  that  this  was  in  fact 
a  minor  matter — a  sort  of  badge  of  distinction  that 
did  not  really  touch  the  main  questions  at  issue. 


ULRIC  ZWINdLI.  91 

The  fact  is  tliat  these  ciilliiisiasts  lan.i^lit  that  (jod's 
people  must  always  expect  to  be  led  by  divine  in- 
spiration— that  the  teachings  of  the  Bible  need  to 
be  supplemented  by  constant  revelations.  The  way 
was  thus  opened  for  all  sorts  of  fanatics  who  be- 
lieved or  pretended  that  their  extravagant  utter- 
ances were  divinely  inspired.  The  leaders  were  in 
some  instances  political  adventurers  who  employed 
the  credulity  of  their  followers  for  their  personal 
advantage.  They  were  extreme  socialists  who  an- 
nounced the  establishment  of  a  new  Israel  ;  and 
that  they  would  rather  have  attempted  to  found  it  in 
Switzerland  than  in  Germany  goes  without  saying. 
They  called  Zwingli  "the  great  dragon"  and 
would  know  him  by  no  other  name.  Once,  in 
1525,  a  great  multitude  of  these  people  came  rush- 
ing into  the  hotel  de  ville^  shouting,  '^  Rejoice,  re- 
joice Jerusalem,"  and  demanding  the  adhesion  of 
Zurich  to  the  truth.  The  council  called  a  meeting 
in  the  cathedral,  and  Zwnngli  was  required  to  meet 
them  in  debate.  When  the  wild  crowd  saw  the 
great  Protestant  leader  they  hesitated,  and  for  some 
time  none  of  them  had  a  word  to  say.  Kt  last  a 
rude,  ignorant  peasant  rose  and  said  :  "Zwingli,  I 
adjure  thee,  by  the  living  God,  to  tell  me  but  a 
single  word  of  truth."  Quick  as  a  flash  Zwingli 
replied  :  "  I  wnll  do  that.  I  tell  thee  that  thou  art 
one  of  the  most  ignorant  and  rebellious  country- 
bumpkins  in  all  Switzerland." 


92  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

The  controversy  soon  began  in  a  more  serious 
manner,  and  continued  three  days  ;  but  then  the 
power  of  the  Anabaptists  was  broken.  Several  of 
their  leaders  subsequently  engaged  in  political  con- 
spiracies, and  rendering  themselves  amenable  to 
the  laws  were  executed  at  Zurich.  Zwingli  had 
been  accused  of  sanctioning  these  extreme  meas- 
ures ;  but  his  most  reliable  biographers  (Christoffel, 
Grobe,  and  Schaflf)  insist  that  he  counselled  more 
lenient  action.  There  can,  however,  be  no  doubt 
that  the  strong  stand  taken  by  the  city  council  of 
Zurich  saved  Switzerland  from  becoming  the  center 
of  the  Peasant  War. 

Zwingli's  meeting  with  Luther  at  Marburg,  in 
1529,  has  frequently  been  represented  as  the  occa- 
sion which  separated  the  two  great  churches  of  the 
Reformation.  Far  from  this  being  the  case  it  may 
confidently  be  affirmed  that  it  brought  them  nearer 
together  than  they  were  ever  before  or  afterwards. 
Up  to  this  time  the  Protestants  of  Germany  had 
been  intensely  prejudiced  against  Zwingli  and  the 
Swiss.  Many  people  believed  that  they  denied  the 
Trinity  and  that  they  secretly  worshipped  Moham- 
med. Luther  knew  better  than  this  ;  but  he  was 
bitterly  opposed  to  the  Swiss  because  they  did  not 
fully  agree  with  him  concerning  the  nature  of  the 
person  of  Christ  and  of  the  sacraments.  To  him 
the  Lord's  Supper  was  in  a  pre-eminent  degree  the 
sanctum  sanctorum  of  worship  ;  and  its  shechinali 


ULRIC  Z\\'L\CLI.  93 

was  the  corj-»oral  presence  of  tlie  Lord.  Zwingli, 
on  the  other  liand,  recrarded  the  sacraments  as  siens 
and  seals  of  a  grace  already  received.  He  recog- 
nized the  divine  presence  in  the  sacramental  ser- 
vice ;  bnt  it  was  a  presence  that  declares  and  con- 
firms the  thing  signified,  that  it  does  not  create  it. 
We   do   not   understand   him   as  teachino'  that  the 

o 

Lord's  Supper  is  simply  a  memorial  service  ;  but 
that  it  is  the  means  by  which  heavenly  graces  are 
conveyed  to  the  believing  heart. 

"  Luther,"  says  Baur,  "had  made  no  distinction 
between  Zwingli  and  the  Anabaptists  ;  to  him  they 
were  all  '  Sacramentarians. '  "  At  this  time  his 
prejudices  were  intensified  by  political  conditions. 
Philip  of  Hesse  had  conceived  the  idea  of  uniting 
the  Protestants  in  opposition  to  the  imperial  power 
which  was  enlisted  on  the  Catholic  side.  He  wrote 
more  than  thirty  letters  on  the  subject  ;  and  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  he  had  consulted  with  Zwingli 
with  a  degree  of  freedom  that  might  by  the  emperor 
have  been  construed  as  treasonable.  In  pursuance 
of  his  purpose  Philip  was  very  anxious  to  bring  the 
leaders  of  the  Reformation  into  personal  contact, 
and  accordingly  arranged  for  a  meeting  and  confer- 
ence. Luther  and  Melancthon  did  not  desire  to 
attend  it  ;  but  the  Elector  of  Saxony  directed  them 
to  go  and  so  they  went.  They  must,  however, 
have  appreciated  the  fact  that  an  intimate  alliance 
with  the  republican  Swiss  would  have  a  tendency 


94  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORM  A  TION. 

to  alienate  the  princes  of  Germany  on  whose  pro- 
tection they  so  greatly  depended. 

The  Reformers  met  at  Marburg  on  the  first  day 
of  October,  1529.  The  facts  of  the  meeting  are 
well  known  and  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  relate 
them  in  detail.  First  there  was  a  discussion  be- 
tween Luther  and  Oecolampadius,  and  another  be- 
tween Zwingli  and  Melancthon,  and  it  was  unex- 
pectedly found  that  these  teachers  were  more  nearly 
agreed  than  any  one  had  imagined.  It  was  when 
Zwingli  and  Luther  were  brought  together  to  dis- 
cuss the  sacraments  that  the  disagreement  became 
evident.  Luther  took  a  piece  of  chalk  and  wrote 
on  the  table  :  "This  is  my  body,"  and  at  every 
turn  of  the  argument  he  pointed  to  the  words. 
Zwingli  proved  himself  an  able  debater  and  kept 
his  temper  throughout.  He  was  extremely  cour- 
teous— perhaps  a  little  too  much  so — a  little  con- 
descending, in  fact  ;  but  taking  all  together  it  was 
decidedly  the  most  gentlemanly  discussion  of  the 
period  of  the  Reformation.  It  was  far  too  brief; 
for  a  dangerous  disease — the  sweating  sickness — 
had  broken  out  in  Marburg,  and  both  parties  were 
anxious  to  leave  the  town. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  conference  Luther,  at 
Philip's  request,  drew  up  articles  of  agreement, 
which  were  signed  by  all  the  reformers.  You  will 
find  their  signatures  reproduced  in  fac  simile  in 
volume.      This  author 


ULRIC  ZWIAOL/. 


95 


fourteen  out  of  fifteen  articles  they  agreed  fully, 
and  even  in  the  fifteenth  they  agreed  in  the  prin- 
cipal part,  namely,  the  spiritual  presence  and 
fruition  of  Christ's  body  and  blood,  differing  only 
in  regard  to  corporal  presence  and  oral  manduca- 
tion,  which  the  one  denied  and  the  other  asserted." 
"Even  on  this  point,"  says  Oswald  Myconius, 
Zwingli's  friend  and  biographer,  "  I  feel  convinced 
that  the  two  men  did  not  fully  understand  each 
other."  ''Zwingli,  with  his  rationalizing  mind, 
could  not  understand  that  from  Luther's  point  of 
view  there  is  a  sacramental  eating  which  is  not 
physical  nor  carnal.  Luther  did  not  give  credit  to 
Zwingli  for  believing  that  spiritual  communication 
is  real  and  true." 

Considering  the  fact  that  both  reformers  signed 
the  articles  it  is  not  easy  to  see  why  Luther  refused 
to  give  Zwingli  the  right  hand  of  fellowship, 
though  he  pleaded  for  it  with  tears.  He  said : 
''Ye  have  a  different  spirit  from  ours;"  and  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  it  was  the  spirit,  rather  than 
the  letter,  in  which  they  chiefly  disagreed.  It  must 
not  be  understood  that  there  was  any  lack  of  social 
courtesy.  Luther  wrote,  immediately  after  the  con- 
ference :  ''We  have  become  good  friends  and  will 
help  each  other."  Nine  years  later  he  wrote  to 
Bullinger  that  he  had  found  Zwingli  a  most  excel- 
lent man  {vir  optimus)^  though  in  the  next  year  he 
once     more     attacked     the      "  Sacramentarians." 


96  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

Melancthon,    however,    remained    faithful    to    the 
Marburg  agreement  to  the  end  of  his  life. 

The  peculiar  spirit  of  the  Swiss  churches  became 
apparent  in  their  organization.  Luther  had,  in- 
deed, pleaded  for  the  freedom  of  the  churches  ;  but 
the  princes  at  once  assumed  control,  and  the 
churches  of  the  several  countries  were  governed  b}^ 
a  bureau  or  '' Consistorium,"  as  one  of  the  depart- 
ments of  the  civil  service.  In  Switzerland,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  legislature  also  assumed  supreme 
direction  ;  but  it  was  itself  a  popular  body,  and  the 
organization  was  effected  in  accordance  with  the 
will  of  the  people.  It  was  Zwingli  who  first  ap- 
pointed laymen  to  office  in  the  church  ;  it  was  he 
who  convened  the  earliest  Protestant  synod.  Cal- 
vin, it  is  true,  receives  greater  credit  in  the  matter 
of  organization,  but  he  was  simply  working  in  the 
same  line.  May  I  venture  to  remind  you  that  it 
was  the  strong  popular  organization  of  the  Re- 
formed churches  that  enabled  them  to  defend  them- 
selves successfully  in  days  of  persecution  ?  In  a 
broader  sense  it  may  be  said,  that  it  is  in  the  coun- 
tries which  followed  the  example  of  Switzerland 
that  we  find  the  grandest  manifestations  of  self- 
sacrifice  in  the  cause  of  civil  liberty.  Holland  de- 
rived her  ideals  from  Switzerland,  and  our  own 
country  would  hardly  have  assumed  its  present 
form  of  government  if  Holland  and  Switzerland  had 
not  led  the  way.     The  congregational  meeting  led 


I'l.RfC  /AVINCLI. 


97 


to  tlic  town  inectiii.i;-  ;  the  chissis,  or  presbytery,  to 
the  lei^ishiture  ;  and  tlie  synod  to  coni^ress. 

That  Zwingli  was  a  patriot  and  statesman  we 
have  already  intimated.  When  his  statue  was 
erected  in  Zurich  a  few  years  ago  Catholics  con- 
tributed freely  ;  not,  they  said,  on  ecclesiastical 
grounds,  but  because  he  was  the  foremost  citizen  ot 
Switzerland. 

Zwingli  was  cut  down  in  the  prime  of  his  man- 
hood and  left  much  of  his  work  unfinished.  He 
fell  on  the  battlefield,  October  ii,  1531,  aged  forty- 
seven  years,  nine  months  and  eleven  days.  He 
was  not  the  cause  of  the  war  wdiich  resulted  in  his 
death  ;  he  did  not  use  his  weapons  on  the  field  of 
battle  ;  but  as  the  chief  pastor  of  Zurich  he  was 
by  law  required  to  accompany  its  army. 

It  was  a  shameful,  fratricidal  war.  The  Catholic 
cantons  had  maltreated  Protestants,  and  the  Pro- 
testants refused  to  trade  with  them.  It  was  an 
actual  blockade,  and  the  Catholics  determined  to 
avenge  themselves  by  attacking  Zurich.  Eight 
thousand  crossed  the  frontier,  and  the  army  of  de- 
fense numbered  not  more  than  from  fifteen  hundred 
to  nineteen  hundred  men.  The  Zurichers  fought 
bravely  at  Cappel  but  w^ere  overpowered,  and 
Zwingli  was  mortally  wounded.  His  last  w^ords 
were  :  "  What  does  it  matter  ?  They  may  kill  the 
body,  but  they  cannot  kill  the  soul." 


98  LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

After  the  battle  Zwingli  was  found  by  the  enemy 
lying  on  the  field.  He  was  still  conscious  but 
unable  to  speak.  To  a  question,  whether  he  de- 
sired the  services  of  a  priest  he  replied  by  a  nega- 
tive gesture.  Then  a  soldier  recognized  him,  and 
Captain  Vokinger  of  Uri,  killed  him  w^ith  his 
sword.  A  Catholic  priest,  named  Schonbrunner, 
who  had  been  one  of  Zwingli's  chief  opponents, 
burst  into  tears  as  he  passed  the  body,  and  ex- 
claimed :  "Whatever  may  have  been  thy  faith, 
thou  has  been  an  honest  patriot.  May  God  forgive 
thy  sins." 

The  fanatics  and  mercenaries  did  not  even  spare 
the  dead.  They  decreed  that  Zwingli's  body  should 
be  quartered  for  treason  and  then  burned  for  heresy  ; 
and  the  barbarous  sentence  was  executed  by  the 
sheriff  of  Luzerne.  But  what  did  it  matter  ?  They 
could  not  kill  the  soul. 

The  death  of  the  Protestant  leader  spread  terror 
and  gloom.  There  is  a  poem — "  Frau  Zwingli's 
Lament" — which  speaks  of  the  inexpressible  grief 
of  Zwingli's  wife.  Her  husband  was  dead,  and 
Ceroid  her  son,  and,  it  is  said,  more  than  a  dozen 
of  her  nearest  relatives.  Zwingli  left  no  property, 
except  a  few  books  and  a  little  furniture,  and  his 
family  was  entirely  destitute.  Then  it  was  that 
his  successor  in  the  pastorate,  Henry  Bullinger, 
came  to  the  rescue  ;  he  and  his  wife  received-  the 


VI.Rfr  ZWISCLI.  9,, 

widow  and  the  fatherless  and  eared  for  tliem   nnti' 
their  support  was  no  lon^^er  neede<l. 

Zwingli  does  not  belong  to  a  single  branch  of  tht 
Church  of  Christ.  The  religious  movement  in 
which  he  was  so  prominent  extended  to  many  coun- 
tries, and  gave  birth  to  a  series  of  national  Re- 
formed churches.  His  dying  words  have  proved  a 
prophecy  that  is  abundantly  fulfilled.  From  an 
early  period  the  chosen  emblem  of  the  Reformed 
churches  has  been  the  burning  bush  which  Moses 
saw  on  Horeb.  It  has  been  frequently  enveloped 
by  the  flames  of  persecution,  but  it  is  still  green 
and  flourishing.  The  external  form  may  change, 
but  the  inner  life  no  fire  can  burn,  no  flood  can 
drown.  ' '  The\  may  kill  the  body,  but  they  can  not 
kill  the  soul." 


rv. 

THE  CHURCH  UNDER  THE  CROSS. 

JOHN    CALVIN. 

THE  city  of  Geneva  was  in  the  sixteenth  century 
sometimes  termed  "the  Protestant  Rome." 
Though  the  term  was  very  properly  repudiated 
by  Protestants  there  was  a  point  of  view  from 
which  it  was  not  entirely  undeserved.  Like  the 
ancient  capital  of  the  Caesars,  Geneva  was  recog- 
nized as  the  meeting-place  of  nationalities.  Situ- 
ated in  what  is  now  the  south-western  corner  of 
Switzerland,  within  a  few  hours  journey  of  the 
French  frontier,  and  almost  as  near  to  Italy,  its 
geographical  position,  no  less  than  the  diversified 
character  of  its  population,  rendered  it  especially 
well  suited  to  be  the  center  of  a  religious  move- 
ment embracing  many  nations. 

Surely  there  is  no  more  beautiful  place  in  all  the 
world.  Standing  on  both  sides  of  the  river  Rhone 
where  its  turbulent  flood  pours  forth  from  Lake 
Leman — within  sight  of  the  snow-clad  summit  of 
Mont  Blanc — it  is  a  city  of  which  Luther  might 
have  said  :  "  If  it  were  not  for  sin  I  should  delight 
to  dwell  forever  in  this  Paradise." 

For  this  pearl  of  the  Alps  neighboring  princes 
had  struggled  for  generations.  Originally  the  city 
had  been  jointly  governed  by  a  bishop  and  a  count 
of  the  empire.      On  this  account  the  coat-of-arms 


JOIIX  CAIAIN.  TOT 

oi  the  city  represented  a  shield  parted  per  paic, 
with  a  key  on  one  side  and  half  an  ea^^le  on  the 
other.  The  people,  however,  playfully  said  that  it 
represented  half  a  turkey  and  the  key  to  the  wine- 
cellar  ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  general 
reputation  of  the  city  was  greatly  in  favor  of  this 
interpretation. 

Charles  III.,  duke  of  Savoy,  had  secured  the 
appointment  of  one  of  his  relatives,  Pierre  de  la 
Baume,  as  bishop  of  Geneva,  and  by  his  aid  had 
seized  and  for  some  time  held  the  city.  The  bishop 
was  popularly  regarded  as  a  traitor,  and  his  conduct 
did  much  to  undermine  episcopal  authority  in 
Geneva.  Among  those  who  incurred  the  enmity 
of  the  Duke  was  Bonnivard,  who  was  for  eight 
years  chained  to  a  pillar  in  a  dungeon,  and  has 
been  immortalized  by  Byron  as  the  Prisoner  of 
Chillon. 

There  was  a  protracted  conflict  between  two  par- 
ties which  were  arrayed  against  each  other  in 
bitterest  opposition.  The  one  party,  which  favored 
annexation  to  Switzerland,  was  called  Eidge7iossen^ 
or  confederates,  a  name  which  the  Swiss  have 
always  applied  to  themselves.  The  opposing  party 
was  termed  Mamelukes,  which  in  those  days  meant 
slaves,  because  they  were  regarded  as  the  slaves  of 
the  duke  of  Savoy. 

In  1526  the  patriotic  party  triumphed  and  Ge- 
neva was  united  with  Switzerland,  not  at  first  as  a 


I02         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

canton  but  as  an  allied  district — "  ein  ztigewandter 
Orty  These  new  political  relations  negatively 
prepared  the  way  for  the  introduction  of  the 
Reformation  in  its  Swiss  form.  It  is  true  that  the 
pioneers  were  Frenchmen,  but  they  labored  under 
the  patronage  of  the  Swiss  churches. 

During  the  years  immediately  succeeding  the 
death  of  Zwingli  the  churches  of  German  Switzer- 
land had  been  greatly  discouraged ;  but  the  losses 
resultant  from  the  battle  of  Cappel  were  more  than 
retrieved  by  the  conversion  of  the  French  cantons 
of  Vaud,  Neufchatel  and  Geneva.  The  pioneer  in 
this  work  was  William  Farel,  who  was  vigorously 
seconded  by  Peter  Viretus. 

Farel  has  been  termed  ^'  The  Elijah  of  the  French 
Reformation."  He  was  a  Frenchman  of  noble  de- 
scent who  had  been  converted  by  Lefevre  des 
Etaples,  "the  father  of  Protestantism  in  France.'^ 
In  his  youth,  Farel  tells  us,  he  had  been  ''more 
popish  than  the  pope;"  but  v/hen  he  became  a 
Protestant  he  did  it  with  all  his  heart.  Driven 
from  France  he  became  a  traveling  evangelist  who 
did  more  to  break  w^ay  for  the  Gospel  than  any 
other  of  his  cotemporaries.  His  associates  de- 
scribe him  as  a  perfect  firebrand.  Oecolampadius, 
the  reformer  of  Basel,  warned  him  that  his  mission 
was  "  to  preach  the  Gospel  and  not  to  curse  the 
pope."  Farel  might  have  retorted  in  the  words  of 
Lavengro  :    "  Go  to  !     Go  to,  old  man  !     Did  you 


JOHN  CAl.\-[,W.  103 

ever  hear  the  pope  eursc  ?"  J^vcii  Zwiir^li  warned 
him  that  his  life  was  too  precious  to  })c  sacrificed 
by  acts  of  imprudence.  Farel,  howe\  er,  was  not 
the  man  to  take  advice  on  such  a  subject.  He 
went  straight  on  and  accomplished  wiiat  the  world 
accounted  impossibilities.  To  Geneva  he  went  on 
his  -own  responsibility,  rented  a  house,  and  in  it 
preached  to  all  who  came.  One  day,  on  the  street, 
he  met  a  priest  carrying  relics  ;  in  his  enthusiasm 
he  took  them  away  from  him  by  force  and  threw 
them  into  the  river.  This  is  but  an  example  of  his 
violent  methods,  and  we  are  hardly  surprised  to 
learn  that  he  was  kicked  and  buffeted,  and  finally 
thrown  out  of  the  city.  In  a  few  days  he  returned, 
armed  with  letters  of  recommendation  from  Bern, 
and  began  to  preach  with  redoubled  energy  and 
power.  Such  enthusiasm  was  irresistible  and  on 
the  27th  of  August,  1535,  the  Great  Council  of 
Geneva  formally  introduced  the  Reformation,  and 
the  citizens  pledged  themselves  to  live  in  accord- 
ance with  the  precepts  of  the  Gospel.  The  mass 
was  abolished  and  forbidden  ;  images  and  relics 
were  removed  from  the  churches.  A  school  was 
founded  which  afterwards  grew  into  an  important 
literary  institution.  Daily  sermons  were  preached 
in  the  principal  churches  ;  the  communion  after  the 
simple  manner  of  Zurich  was  ordered  to  be  cele- 
brated four  times  a  year.  All  shops  were  closed  on 
Sunday ;  and  discipline  was  so  minute  that  it  even 


I04         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

prescribed  how  brides  should  wear  their  hair. 
These  strict  regulations  aroused  opposition,  and 
there  was  great  confusion  throughout  the  city. 

In  the  midst  of  the  prevailing  disorder,  in  the 
latter  part  of  August,  1536,  John  Calvin  arrived  in 
Geneva.  He  was  on  his  way  to  Basel,  where  he 
proposed  to  devote  himself  to  humanistic  studies, 
and  took  lodgings  at  an  inn  for  a  single  night.  He 
supposed  himself  unknown,  but  was  recognized  by 
an  acquaintance,  Louis  du  Tillet,  who  at  once  con- 
veyed the  news  to  Farel.  With  almost  prophetic 
insight  the  latter  appreciated  the  fact  tliat  the  man 
and  the  hour  had  come,  and  immediately  sought 
the  stranger  at  his  inn.  With  all  the  earnestness 
of  his  nature  Farel  exhorted  him  to  take  charge  of 
the  work  in  Geneva.  Calvin  shrank  back  ;  he 
desired  to  live  a  quiet  life  in  the  midst  of  the  storms 
of  the  age.  When  Farel  found  that  he  could 
accomplish  nothing  by  way  of  entreaty  he  burst 
forth  in  words  of  the  sternest  reproof.  He  threat- 
ened Calvin  with  the  curse  of  Almighty  God,.. if 
he  preferred  his  personal  convenience  to  the  work 
of  the  Lord — declaring  that  he  would  himself  be 
his  accuser  at  the  bar  of  judgment.  Calvin — that 
cold,  unimpressive  man — confesses  that  he  was 
terrified  by  the  words  of  the  stern  evangelist ;  he 
felt  "  as  if  God  Himself  had  stretched  forth  His 
hand  to  hold  him  there." 


JOH\  CALVIN.  105 

Refusing  to  hold  official  position,  Calvin  agreed 
to  remain  in  Geneva  and  to  help  where  he  could. 
He  was,  indeed,  the  chief  pastor  of  the  city,  but 
there  is  no  record  of  his  formal  ordination. 

Hitherto  the  life  of  John  Calvin  had  not  been 
peculiarly  eventful.  He  was  born,  July  10,  1509, 
at  Noyon,  sixty-seven  miles  from  Paris.  His  father, 
Gerdrd  Cauvin — whose  name  according  to  the 
fashion  of  the  times  was  Latinized  into  Calvinus— 
occupied  a  prominent  position  as  a  notary  and  sec- 
retary to  the  bishop  of  Noyon.  His  mother, 
Jeanne  Lefranc,  or  Francke,  is  said  to  have  been  of 
German  descent.  Recently  discovered  documents 
render  it  probable  that  the  father  accepted  Protest- 
antism before  the  son ;  and,  indeed,  the  whole 
family  was  suspected  of  liberalism. 

John  Calvin  received  his  earliest  education  in 
company  with  the  children  of  the  noble  family  of 
Mommors.  At  first  it  was  expected  that  he  would 
study  for  the  priesthood  ;  and  he  was  in  part  sup- 
ported by  the  revenues  of  a  chaplaincy.  After- 
wards, in  accordance  with  his  father's  wishes,  he 
studied  law  ;  but  he  was  so  profoundly  interested 
in  religious  questions  that  "  he  studied  law  bv  day 
and  theology  at  night."  He  did  not,  however, 
neglect  his  legal  studies  ;  for,  as  Ancillon  says,  he 
became  "  the  greatest  theologian  of  his  age  and  the 
greatest   lawyer  of  any  age."      He  received  an  ex- 


I06         LEADF.J^S  OF  THE  J^EFORMATION. 

ceiient  education,  studying  successively  at  the  lead- 
\\\^  French  universities,  Orleans,  Bourges,  and 
Paris.  From  his  favorite  teacher,  Cordatus,  he  ac- 
quired so  thorough  a  knowledge  of  Latin  that  he 
has  been  termed  "  the  best  Latinist  since  Cicera'* 
His  feliovz-students  sakl  he  was  "all  Logic  and 
Latin  ;"  and  in  the  absence  of  the  regular  profes- 
sors he  was  frequently  called  upon  to  give  instruc- 
tion in  these  branches.  He  bore  the  reputation  of 
being  stern  and  critical,  and  his  companions  nick- 
named him  "the  accusative  case."  With  all  this 
he  was  not  destitute  of  devoted  friends  who  re- 
mained attached  to  him  to  the  end  of  life.  One  of 
his  teachers  was  Melchior  Wolmar,  a  German,  who 
was  a  decided  Protestant,  but  whether  he  exerted 
any  direct  influeuce  on  Calvin's  convictions  is  not 
certainly  known. 

The  religious  condition  of  France  was  at  this 
time  confused  and  discouraging.  There  was  much 
Protestant  feeling  but  no  general  organization. 
D'Aubigne  is  no  doubt  right  in  saying  that  the 
French  Reformation  was,  in  part  at  least,  of  indi- 
genous origin.  The  church  of  France  had  always 
insisted  on  '' Gallican  liberties,"  and  had  produced 
some  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  so-called  "  Re- 
formers before  the  Reformation."  Here  such  men 
as  John  Gerson,  Pierre  D'Ailly,  and  the  abbots  of 
St.  Victor  had  lifted  up  their  voices  in  behalf  of 


AV/A'  CAI.MN. 


1 07 


the  righteousness  to  wliicli  tlicir  a,i,^e  liad  become  a 
stranger.  They  liad  never  forgotten  the  days  of 
Philip  le  Bel,  wlien  the  jiope  dwelt  in  Avignon  and 
the  kings  of  France  dictated  the  policy  of  the  papal 
court.  To  the  people  of  France  the  exalted  pre- 
tensions of  the  Roman  curia  appeared  absurd  ;  and 
the  higher  classes,  at  least,  simply  refused  to  sub- 
mit to  the  tyranny  which  was  elsewhere  so  oppres- 
sive. It  became  the  fasliion  to  ridicule  priests  and 
monks,  and  the  literature  of  the  times  is  filled  to 
overflowing  with  stories  of  their  stupidity  and 
lewdness.  As  early  as  15 12  Lefcvre  des  Etaples 
began  to  deliver  sledge-hammer  blows  against  the 
hierarchy.  Bricounet,  bisliop  of  Meaux,  and  other 
prelates,  rejoiced  for  a  time  in  what  they  regarded 
as  the  dawning  of  a  new  era.  At  first  it  seemed  as 
if  all  France  would  accept  the  Reformation.  The 
king's  sister,  Margaret  of  Navarre,  became  the 
patron  of  Protestants,  and  most  of  the  leading 
nobility  declared  themselves  in  their  favor.  Young 
men  of  the  highest  rank  paraded  the  streets  sing^ 
ing  -  Protestant  psalms,  and  ladies  of  the  court 
sought  out  the  obscure  meeting-places  of  tie 
Huguenots  to  hear  the  word  of  God.  For  a  while 
it  was  believed  that  the  king  himself  would  take 
the  side  of  the  Reformers— he  despised  the  prests 
and  hated  the  machinations  of  the  Italian  party  ; 
but  Francis  I.  appears  to  have  been  almost  desti- 
tute of  religious  impulses.      His  strongest  passion 


I08         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

was  his  desire  for  the  aggrandizement  of  the  royal 
power  ;  and  next  to  that  a  longing  to  be  avenged 
on  those  of  the  great  nobility  who  had  stood  in  the 
way  of  his  ambition.  When,  therefore,  the  Sor- 
boune,  in  1521,  issued  a  declaration  against  the 
doctrine  of  Luther,  and  it  became  evident  that  the 
French  people  would  not  generally  accept  the 
Reformation,  he  issued  an  edict  forbidding  the 
practice  of  new  forms  of  religion.  At  this  time  he 
uttered  his  famous  dictum  :  "  Un  roi^  un  loi^  un 
foi^^ — "One  king,  one  law,  one  faith."  To  a 
modern  observer  it  seems  as  if  the  king  had  chosen 
the  occasion  to  gain  the  support  of  the  common 
people  in  his  conflict  with  the  great  nobles  of  the 
realm. 

The  Protestants  could  not  safely  contradict  a 
royal  proclamation ;  but  some  of  them  very  fool- 
ishly printed  placards  denouncing  the  mass,  and 
one  of  these  was  found  affixed  to  the  door  of  the 
king's  bed-chamber.  The  king  was  now  thor- 
oughly alarmed,  and  the  pope's  legate  found  it  easy 
to  persuade  him  that  the  introduction  of  new  forms 
of  faith  must  necessarily  involve  a  change  in  the 
royal  dynasty.  The  influence  of  his  sister  could  no 
longer  restrain  him,  and  at  his  direction  seven  Pro- 
testants were  executed  under  circumstances  of  the 
most  revolting  cruelty. 

^After  this  event  the  cause  of  Protestantism  in 
France  was  greatly  depressed.     Many  of  the  Pro- 


jo/ix  r.u.r/N.  109 

testant  leaders  fled  from  the  country,  and  those  who 
remained  could  discover  no  better  way  of  preserv- 
ing their  faith  than  by  organizing  local  societies 
which  were  known  by  such  fanciful  names  as  "The 
Rose,"  "The  Lily,"  or  ^'  The  Olive."  These  soci- 
eties held  public  meetings  which  were  devoted  to 
literature  and  music ;  but  after  the  strangers  had 
withdrawn  the  members  strengthened  each  other 
in  their  faith.  It  was  at  this  time  that  French 
Protestants  began  to  call  themselves  "The  Church 
under  the  Cross;"  though  they  w^ere  popularly 
known  as  "Huguenots" — a  term  which  has  been 
variously  interpreted,  but  had  probably  originated 
in  Geneva  by  the  mispronunciation  of  the  term 
^^ Eidgenos^^  or  "confederate,"  as  applied  to  the 
party  which  was  devoted  to  Swiss  interests. 

"  The  darkest  hour  is  just  before  the  dawn."  At 
this  time  it  began  to  be  whispered  that  John  Cal- 
vin— w^ho  was  already  distinguished  as  a  scholar — 
had  accepted  the  Gospel.  Calvin  himself  tells  us 
that,  in  1533,  he  was  suddenly  converted  ;  but  he 
has  not  related  the  circumstances  and  we  must  re- 
main in  ignorance.  Immediately  afterwards  he 
began  to  preach  in  secret,  encouraging  the  hearts 
of  those  wdio  were  ready  to  faint. 

In  the  previous  year  Calvin's  first  literary  work 
had  appeared.  It  was  a  commentar}^  on  the  trea- 
tise of  the  Roman  philosopher  Seneca  on  "  Clem- 
ency."    It  has  been  supposed  that  it  was  intended 


no         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

to  move  the  king  to  clemency ;  but  there  is  noth- 
ing  in    the    book    to    indicate    that    this    was  the 
author's  intention.      Its  undeniable   learning,  how- 
ever, gained  him  the  respect  of  the  educated  classes, 
and  thus  prepared  the  way  for  his  subsequent  work. 
In   October,  1533,  the  public  rupture   occurred. 
An   eminent    physician,   Nicholas   Cop,    had  been 
elected  rector  of  the  university  of  Paris  ;  and  as  he 
was  not  skilled  in  literary  composition  he  induced 
Calvin  to  assist  him    in   preparing   his    inaugural 
address.      Calvin  made  it  a  plea  for  the  reformation 
of  the  church,  and,  perhaps  unintentionally  inserted 
doctrinal  statements  which  were  deemed  objection- 
able.    The  authorship  of  the   address  was  discov- 
ered, and  both  Calvin  and  Cop  were  forced  to  flee 
for  their  lives."^.    There   is  a  tradition   that   Calvin 
was  aided  by  his  friends  to  escape  through  a  win- 
dow, and  that  he  fled  from  Paris  disguised  as  a  vine- 
dresser, with  a  hoe  upon  his  shoulder.      For  three 
years    Calvin    was   a   wandering  evangelist.      For 
some  time  he  was  protected  by  Margaret  of  Na- 
varre, but  was  finally  compelled  to  seek  a  refuge  in 
Normandy,  where  he  is  said  to  have  hid  himself  in 
a  cave  which  is  still  called  "Calvin's  cave,"     Fi- 
nally he  escaped  to  Basel,  where  he  was  kindly  re- 
ceived. '  ^  Here,  after  some  minor  literary  labor  he 
published,  in  1536,  the  Latin   edition  of  his  great 
work,  "The  Institutes  of  the  Christian  Religion." 
The   French   edition   did    not    appear  until    1541. 


JOHN  CALVIN. 


II  1 


This  was  the  oreatrst  theolooical  work  of  its  ai;e, 
perhaps  of  any  age.  As  the  composition  of  a  yonn;^^ 
man  of  twenty-six  it  was  marvellous.  Most  won- 
derful of  all  is  the  fact  that  though  Calvin  pub- 
lished many  editions  of  liis  book,  and  made  con- 
stant additions,  he  seems  never  to  have  changed  his 
mind  in  a  single  particular. 

The  ruling  principle  of  Calvin's  ''Institutes,"  as 
their  author  expressed  it,  was  "the  utter  destruc- 
tion of  human  glory  that  God  might  be  all  in  alL" 
This  principle,  as  he  developed  it,  gave  rise  to  the 
system  which  is  known  as  "Calvinism,"  though  in 
ordinar}'  usage  the  term  is  not  always  properly 
applied.  Predestination,  it  need  hardly  be  said,  is 
but  a  part  of  Calvinism,  and  it  may  perhaps  be 
termed  the  feature  which  was  originally  least  dis- 
tinctive. On  this  subject  there  was  no  serious  disa- 
greement among  the  early  reformers,  and  even  the 
church  of  Rome  did  not  condemn  the  Protestant 
doctrine  while  Calvin  lived.  In  this  respect  it  was 
the  spirit  of  Augustine  that  ruled  the  Reformation. 
On  the  continent  of  Europe  it  is  Calvin's  doctrine 
of  the  sacraments  which  is  most  generally  known 
as  "  Calvinism." 

From  a  literary  point  of  view  the  "Institutes'' 
were  a  marvel.  "Tv/o  men,"  it  has  been  said, 
"formed  the  modern  French  language — John  Cal- 
vin and  Francois  Rabelais  :  the  one  a  Christian 
Stoic,  the  other  a  heathen  Epicurean  ;  the  one  rep- 


112         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

resenting  discipline  bordering  on  tyrrany,  the  other 
liberty  running  into  license."^  Concerning  the 
publication  of  the  "Institutes"  Michelet  remarks: 
"  If  the  act  was  bold  no  less  so  was  the  style.  The 
French  language  was  then  an  unknown  tongue  ; 
yet  here,  twenty  years  after  Comines,  thirty  years 
before  Montaigne,  we  have  already  the  language  of 
Rousseau,  his  power  if  not  his  charm.  But  the 
most  formidable  attribute  of  the  volume  is  its  pen- 
etrating clearness,  its  brilliance — of  steel  rather 
than  of  silver  ;  a  blade  which  shines  but  cuts.  One 
sees  that  the  light  comes  from  within,  from  the 
depth  of  the  conscience — from  a  spirit  rigorously 
convinced,  of  which  logic  is  the  food.  One  feels 
that  the  author  gives  nothing  to  appearance — that 
he  labors  to  find  a  solid  argument  upon  which  he 
can  live  and,  if  need  be,  die." 

It  was  this  wonderful  book  that  led  Farel  to 
recognize  its  author  as  the  one  man  who  could  save 
Geneva.  Calvin  had  been  on  a  visit  to  the  pious 
duchess  of  Ferrara  when  he  received  his  wonderful 
call.  Following  that  call  he  built  up  a  social  order 
which  had  been  entirely  broken  down.  It  was  an 
immense  work,  and  he  was  at  every  step  compelled 
to  contend  with  vigilant  and  unscrupulous  enemies, 
but  he  proved  himself  equal  to  the  occasion.  He  be- 
came chief  pastor  and  preached  earnestly  against  ex- 
isting abuses,  but  for  a  time  it  seemed  as  if  his  efforts 
must   remain    fruitless.      The    wickedness    of    the 


(i)  SchaflF's  "  History  of  the  Christian  Church,"  7,  p.  266. 


AVA\-  CV/A/7iV.  113 

people  became  so  great  that  Calvin  and  his  coad- 
jutors refused  to  administer  the  Lord's  Supper  un- 
til there  were  signs  of  repentance.  Persisting  in 
their  refusal,  though  threatened  with  death,  they 
finally  left  the  city,  saying  :  "  It  is  better  to  serve 
God  than  man." 

Calvin  found  a  refuge  in  Strasburg  where  for  two 
years  he  ministered  to  a  congregation  of  fifteen 
hundred  French  refugees.  At  this  time  he  was 
married  to  Idelette  de  Bure,  and  for  nine  years  she 
was  his  faithful  helpmeet.  They  had  a  son  who 
died  in  infancy,  and  a  few  years  later  the  mother 
also  went  to  rest.  It  is  not  true  that  her  stern  hus- 
band remained  unimpressed  by  these  afflictions. 
There  is  plenty  of  evidence  to  prove  that  his  sor- 
row w^as  sincere  and  profound  ;  and  to  this  one 
sweet  memory  he  remained  faithful  to  the  end  of 
life. 

It  is  a  wonderful  fact  that  Geneva,  after  havino- 
driven  Calvin  away,  in  three  years  called  him  back. 
The  afifairs  of  the  city  had  been  going  on  from  bad 
to  worse,  until  absolute  ruin  was  close  at  hand.  In 
vain  the  council  urged  Calvin  to  return,  but  he  de- 
clined until  a  number  of  Reformed  cities  urged  him 
to  hasten  to  the  rescue.  Then,  in  1541,  he  re- 
turned to  Geneva,  with  the  full  understanding  that 
his  plans  of  discipline  were  to  be  carried  out. 

From  this  time  forth  no  king  in  Europe  exercised 
so  much  power  as  did  John  Calvin.      This  power 


114         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

v/as  altogether  moral  ;  it  was  not  that  of  a  tyrant, 
lie  had  no  official  position  except  that  of  a  simple 
pastor.  His  annual  salary  was  only  250  francs, 
with  a  plain  house  which  is  still  standing  in  the 
Rue  des  Chanoines,  and  to  this  the  council  occa- 
sionally added  a  gift  of  cloth  for  a  new  coat.  Like 
all  the  reformers  he  cared  nothing  for  money  ;  he 
had  higher  purposes  than  to  accumulate  wealth, 
and  at  the  time  of  his  death  his  whole  estate 
amounted  to  less  than  two  hundred  dollars  in  our 
present  money.  And  yet  this  poor,  unpretentious 
man  for  nearly  thirty  years  controlled  the  most 
important  currents  in  the  religious  if  not  in  the 
political  life  of  Europe.  Though  he  was  in  bad 
health,  and,  it  v;as  said  "looked  like  a  ghost,"  he 
sometimes  for  long  periods  preached  every  day, 
taught  theology,  wrote  books,  and  was  actively 
engaged  in  directing  the  affairs  of  church  and  state. 
Cranmer  sought  his  advice  with  reference  to  the 
organization  of  the  church  of  England.  In  Hol- 
land his  letters  made  men  strong  to  battle  for  their 
rights.  Far  away,  in  Poland,  Bohemia,  and  Hun- 
gary his  person  was  revered  and  his  instruction 
accepted.  In  Scotland  his  influence  was  para- 
mount ;  for,  as  a  recent  biographer  says,  "  John 
Knox  was  another  Calvin."  In  France  the  fore- 
most of  the  nobility  recognized  him  as  their  leader 
and  instructor.  Perhaps  it  was  in  Geneva  itself 
that  his  authority  was  most  frequently  resisted  ;  but 


fOIIS  CALl'/N.  115 

even  tliere  his  silent  power  prodnced  a  social  order 
that  was  the  wonder  of  his  age.  That  his  stern 
discipline  could  hardly  have  been  carried  out  in  a 
larger  state  is  readily  conceded,  but  it  became  a 
model  to  all  the  nations  of  western  Europe. 

The  close  union  of  church  and  state  sometimes 
led  to  inexcusable  acts  of  tyranny  and  persecution. 
The  most  flagrant  of  these  was  the  condemnation 
and  execution  of  Michael  Servetus  for  heresy. 
That  the  crime  was  regarded  with  universal  detes- 
tation does  not  justify  the  cruelty  of  the  punish- 
ment. Servetus  was  a  Spanish  physician,  a  man 
of  considerable  learning  in  his  proper  profession, 
but  in  theology  a  mere  empiric.  He  appears  not  to 
have  sought  to  reform  the  church  but  to  destroy  it. 
He  had  written  a  blasphemous  book  against  the 
Trinity,  and  had  been  tried  and  condemned  to  death 
by  the  Roman  Catholic  authorities  of  Vienne. 
Escaping  from  prison  he  went  to  Geneva  for  the 
purpose,  it  is  believed,  of  leading  the  party  known 
as  the  Libertines  in  their  opposition  to  the  existing 
order.  He  was  arrested  and  after  a  long  trial  was 
condemned  to  death.  In  his  zeal  for  orthodoxy 
Calvin  bore  witness  against  him,  and  firmly  be- 
lieved that  his  condemnation  was  just ;  but  he  ex- 
pressed a  desire  that  the  punishment  should  be 
mitiofated.  The  council  souo^ht  the  advice  of  the 
leading  vSwiss  churches  which  were  unanimous  in 
declaring  that  the  extreme  penalty  of  the  law  must 


Il6         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

be  enforced.  The  people  were  greatly  excited,  not 
only  in  Geneva,  but  throughout  Europe,  and  noth- 
ing would  satisfy  them  but  the  infliction  of  the 
severest  punishment.  Servetus  w^as  accordingly 
burned  at  the  stake  on  the  27th  of  October,  1553. 

Concerning  this  painful  subject  the  American 
Encyclopaedia  very  properly  says  :  ' '  The  execution 
was  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  all  the  Euro- 
pean states  at  that  period.  It  was  the  inherited 
spirit  of  the  times,  and  not  the  power  of  Calvin, 
that  burned  Servetus.  The  penalty  was  cruel ;  it 
is  indefensible  ;  it  was  even  at  that  time  impolitic. 
Neither  civil  nor  religious  liberty  was  at  that  time 
understood  ;  still  less  was  there  any  sharp  distinc- 
tion made  between  them.  That  analysis  was  the 
fruit  of  time,  and  of  the  seed  which  Calvin  was  at 
that  time  sowing  in  Geneva." 

Calvin  is  frequently  described  as  a  cold,  stern 
man  who  had  little  room  in  his  nature  for  those 
tender  affections  which  are  the  solace  of  life.  No 
doubt  he  was  a  fierce  controversialist,  but  if  he  w^as 
so  cold  and  unresponsive,  why  was  it  that  some  of 
the  noblest  spirits  of  the  age  loved  him  with  more 
than  filial  affection  ?  Theodore  Beza  was  a  brilliant 
poet.  He  had  been  a  curled  and  pampered  darling 
of  society — he  came  to  Geneva  arrayed  in  fine  linen. 
and  reeking  with  unguents — yet  it  needed  but  an 
interview  with  Calvin  to  bring  him  to  his  knees. 
From   that  moment  he  became  the  associate  and 


JOHN  CAIA'IN.  117 

assistant  of  that  stern  preacher  of  ri<;htconsncss — 
his  most  intimate  friend  ;  his  bio^^^raplier  and  suc- 
cessor. Nor  was  Beza  alone  in  sucli  intimate  alTec- 
tion.  What  was  it  that  induced  Clement  Marot, 
the  court-poet,  to  leave  the  service  of  royalty  to 
translate  psalms  at  Calvin's  direction  ?  Wliat  po- 
tent influence  caused  Melancthon  to  say  that  "  he 
wished  he  could  lay  his  weary  head  on  Calvin's 
faithful  heart  and  die  there  ?"  How  was  it  that 
the  light  hearted  duchess,  Renee  of  Ferrara,  and 
the  more  quiet  but  not  less  worldly  Margaret  of 
Angouleme,  turned  from  a  career  of  fashionable 
dissipation  to  listen  humbly  to  that  solemn  man? 
Why  was  it  that  the  great  nobles  of  France — Bour- 
bon, Chattilon,  Rohan,  Soubise,  Montmorency — 
learned  to  regard  Calvin  with  all  the  affection  of 
sons? 

It  is  said  that  "  Calvin  never  slept,"  and  it  is  no 
doubt  true,  as  Beza  says,  that  "  many  a  night  he 
did  not  sleep,  and  many  a  day  he  had  no  time  to 
look  up  to  the  blessed  sun."  Utterly  worn  out  he 
died  in  his  54th  year,  on  the  27th  of  May,  1564. 
He  was  buried  in  the  public  cemetery,  and  in  ac- 
cordance with  his  dying  request  no  monument  was 
erected  over  his  grave. 

Calvin's  life  was  that  of  a  theologian  and  scholar  ; 
it  contained  but  few  of  the  romantic  elements  on 
which  biographers  delight  to  dwell.  He  left  no 
descendants  to  preserve  the  memorials  of  his  great- 


Il8         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

ness  ;  no  church  to  bear  his  name  ;  and  yet  it  is  not 
too  much  to  say  that  the  most  potent  influences  in 
modern  history  may  be  traced  to  his  grand  person- 
ality. More  completely  than  in  the  case  of  any 
other  Reformer  has  the  biography  of  the  leader  be- 
come obscure  as  the  sphere  of  his  influence  ex- 
tended. 

To  relate  the  history  of  "the  church  under  the 
cross' ^  would  require  many  volumes.  As  Calvin 
was,  however,  in  a  pre-eminent  degree  the  leader  of 
the  Reformation  in  France,  though  he  was  person- 
ally a  resident  of  Geneva,  a  brief  sketch  of  the  for- 
tunes of  French  "  Calvinism"  may  not  be  inappro- 
priate. 

As  we  have  already  seen  there  were,  as  early  as 
1524,  little  companies  of  Protestants  here  and 
there  in  France,  who  met  in  secret  to  read  the  word 
of  God.  At  a  later  date  these  "  societies  "  stood  in 
the  most  intimate  relations  with  the  church  of 
Geneva  ;  and  many  of  their  members  undertook 
long  and  dangerous  journeys  to  the  Swiss  cities 
to  receive  the  Holy  Communion.  There  was,  how- 
ever, no  regular  church  organization  until  1555 
when  a  nobleman,  named  La  Ferriere,  declared  in 
a  secret  meeting  that  he  would  under  no  circum- 
stances suffer  his  child  to  be  baptized  in  accordance 
with  the  ceremonies  of  the  Roman  rite,  at  the  same 
time  demanding  the  election  of  a  pastor.  After 
fasting  and  prayer  a  young  theologian,  named  La 


jonx  cAiAiN.  119 

Riviere,  who  li.ul  just  arrived  fruiii  Geneva,  was 
chosen  Lo  this  office,  and  at  the  same  time  a  con- 
sistory of  elders  and  deacons  was  elected  and 
ordained.  The  Protestants  of  other  French  cities 
followed  the  example  of  the  church  in  Paris,  and 
four  years  later  it  became  possible  to  hold  a  General 
Synod  which  adopted  a  confession  of  faith. 
"This,"  says  Goebel,  'Ms  properly  the  beginning 
of  tiie  Reformed  Church  of  France." 

lu  the  organization  of  these  churches  the  model 
of  Geneva  was  carefully  observed.  There  was,  of 
course,  no  dependence  on  the  secular  government, 
and  the  French  congregations  were,  therefore,  prac- 
tically more  independent  than  those  of  Switzer- 
land ;  but  otherwise  the  difference  was  hardly 
appreciable.  Pastors  were  chosen  by  the  consistory, 
but  the  congregation  retained  the  right  of  veto. 
As  the  ruling  elders  were  not  chosen  for  a  term  of 
years,  but  for  life  or  good  behavior,  there  was  a 
natural  inclination  to  select  representative  men  ; 
and  in  the  subsequent  years  of  trial  the  elders 
became,  in  many  instances,  the  secular  leaders  and 
defenders  of  the  congregation. 

The  spread  of  the  French  Reformation  was  not 
limited  by  territorial  boundaries.  The  Southern 
Netherlands  were  by  vicinity  of  situation  and  a 
common  language  closely  related  to  France  ;  and 
there  Calvinism  progressed  with  great  rapidity  and 
assimilated  various  earlier  forms  of  Protestant  faith. 


120         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

In  1559  Guido  de  Bres,  pastor  of  ''the  church  of 
the  Rose-tree  at  Ryssel,"  composed  the  Belgic  Con- 
fession ;  and  in  1566  that  confession  was  adopted 
by  a  synod  at  Antwerp.  The  Walloon  and  Nether- 
land  churches  were  most  intimately  related  to  those 
of  France,  and  they  mutually  sustained  and  com- 
forted each  other  while  they  remained  under  the 
cross. 

It  was  from  the  beginning  the  misfortune  of 
French  Protestantism  to  be  involved  in  politics. 
The  old  nobility  were  mainly  on  the  Protestant 
side,  and  the  king  sought  to  humble  them  by 
attacking  their  religion.  In  their  fortified  castles 
the  nobles  for  a  time  defied  the  royal  power ;  but 
with  the  assistance  of  the  church  of  Rome  the  king 
grew  stronger,  and  the  power  of  the  tobility  was 
proportionately  decreased.  The  great  majority  of 
the  people  took  the  side  of  the  king  ;  and  where 
Huguenots  of  humble  station  could  not  be  pro- 
tected by  the  nobles  they  became  the  object  of  bit- 
ter and  unrelenting  persecution. 

In  sketching  the  story  of  the  Huguenots  we 
must  confine  ourselves  to  the  commonplaces  of  his- 
tory. After  the  death  of  Francis  I.,  it  will  be  re- 
membered, his  son,  Henry  II.,  ascended  the  throne  ; 
but  during  his  reign  Diana  of  Poitiers  was  the 
actual  ruler  of  France.  His  legitimate  queen, 
Catharine  de  Medici,  was  content  to  remain  in  the 
background,  subtle  Italian   as   she  was.     After  the 


JOIIX  CAIA'IN.  121 

death  of  the  kiii;^  tlic  llironc  was  held  for  a  few 
years  by  each  of  his  three  sons — Francis  II., 
Charles  IX.,  and  Henry  III. — bnt  durin<^  all  tliis 
period  their  mother,  Catharine  de  Medici,  held 
supreme  power.  Unless  she  is  greatly  caUinmiated 
she  was  one  of  the  most  wicked  women  that  ever 
lived  ;  and  it  is  believed  by  some  historians  that 
two,  at  least,  of  her  royal  sons  were  murdered  at  her 
instigation,  because  they  sought  to  free  themselves 
from  her  control. 

It  was  not  easy  for  Catharine  to  hold  her  posi- 
tion ;  for  it  seemed  probable  that  the  royal  house 
of  Valois  would  soon  become  extinct,  and  the  great 
families  of  the  realm  were  already  contending  for 
the  succession.  Let  a  few  of  these  pass  across  the 
stage  in  the  persons  of  their  leading  representatives. 

Next  to  the  royal  house  stood  the  princes  of  the 
House  of  Bourbon,  descended  from  Robert  of  Cler- 
mont, sixth  son  of  Louis  IX.  (St.  Louis)  who  in 
A.D.  1272  had  married  Beatrix,  the  heiress  of  the 
barony  of  Bourbon.  The  head  of  the  house  at  this 
time  was  Antoine  de  Bourbon,  who  by  his  marriage 
with  Jeanne  d' Albret  had  become  king  of  Navarre. 
He  had  become  a  Protestant,  but  was  so  weak  and 
vacillating  that  he  injured  the  religion  which  he 
professed  to  defend.  More  earnest  and  sincere  was 
his  younger  brotlier,  Louis,  Prince  of  Conde — a  typi- 
cal child  of  the  South  ;  though  gay,  gallant,  and  fond 
of  pleasure,  he  was  chivalrously  honorable  and  de- 


122         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

votedly  attached  to  the  cause  which  he  had  espoused. 
When  days  of  trouble  came  he  fought  with  heroic 
valor  ;  when  his  enemies  offered  bribes  he  simply 
laughed  at  them.  At  last  his  enemies  became  too 
strong  for  him,  and  after  the  battle  of  Jarnac,  in 
which  he  was  taken  prisoner,  he  was  treacherously 
assassinated. 

Grandest  of  all  the  house  of  Bourbon  was  Jeanne 
d' Albret,  queen  of  Navarre,  the  heroine  of  Rochelle, 
the  mother  of  Henry  IV.  She  it  was  who  when 
her  son  was  still  in  his  minority  assumed  command 
of  the  Huguenot  forces  and  led  them  to  victory. 
When  Catharine  told  her  that  to  gain  the  kingdom 
of  France  for  her  son  it  was  her  duty  to  be  recon- 
ciled with  Rome,  she  exclaimed  with  passionate 
vehemence:  "Madame,  if  at  this  moment  I  held 
my  son  and  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  together, 
I  v/ould  hurl  them  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  rather 
than  imperil  the  salvation  of  my  soul." 

The  Guise  family  assumed  to  be  the  political 
leaders  of  the  Roman  Catholics  of  France.  Their 
father,  Claude,  first  duke  of  Guise,  was  the  fifth 
son  of  Rene,  duke  of  Lorraine.  He  had  entered 
France  during  the  reign  of  Francis  I.,  and  had  per- 
formed prodigies  of  valor  as  a  French  general. 
One  of  his  daughters  was  the  mother  of  Mary, 
Queen  of  Scots.  "Six  stalwart  sons  grew  up 
around  him,  sharers  of  his  fanaticism,  his  ambition, 
his  talents  and  his  success.      Two  of  them  became 


JOHN  CALl'IN.  123 

dukes,  two  rose  to  be  cardinals,  one  is  known  to 
history  as  the  Marquis  d'Elboeuf  and  tlie  other  as 
the  grand  prior." 

United  by  a  coninion  purpose  the  Guise  family 
appeared  to  be  irresistible.  All  of  them  were  men 
of  ability  but  merciless  as  death.  Regarding  them- 
selves as  heirs  of  the  ancient  line  of  Charlemagne 
they  proposed  to  lay  claim  to  the  throne  of  France 
on  the  extinction  of  the  house  of  Valois,  and  in  this 
purpose  they  w^ere  at  one  time  encouraged  by 
Catharine  de  Medici.  Fanatically  attached  to  the 
church  of  Rome,  it  was  their  avowed  purpose  to 
crush  the  Bourbons  and  with  them  to  extirpate 
Protestantism  in  France. 

It  is  hardly  probable  that  the  Bourbons  could 
have  maintained  themselves  against  the  Guises,  if 
they  had  not  been  sustained  by  the  great  majority 
of  the  nobles,  most  prominent  among  whom  were 
the  Chatillons  who  were  represented  by  three 
brothers,  nephews  of  the  old  Connetable  de  Mont- 
morency. Most  prominent  of  the  three  was  Gas- 
pard,  who  from  his  estate  in  Franche  Comte  was 
known  as  Coligni,  Governor  of  Picardy  and  after- 
wards grand  admiral  of  France.  His  influence  in 
the  south  was  hardly  less  than  that  of  the  Guises  in 
the  north.  While  in  captivity  after  the  siege  of  St. 
Quentin  he  had  read  the  Bible  and  the  works  of 
Calvin  ;  and  when  he  was  thereby  led  to  a  change 
of  faith  no  one  doubted  the  o-enuineness  of  his  con- 


124         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

version.  Surely  JMichelet  is  right  when  de  declares 
that  Coligni  was  the  greatest  convert  that  John 
Calvin  ever  made. 

In  their  extreme  fanaticism  the  Guises  began  to 
exterminate  the  Protestants  with  fire  and  sword, 
and  the  latter  were  forced  to  engage  in  a  war  of 
self-defense.  At  the  conjuration  of  Amboise,  in 
1560,  the  political  and  religious  elements  of  the 
Hueuenot  cause  were  welded  too:ether.  Calvin  did 
not  approve  of  the  alliance,  and  warned  his  friends 
that  "those  w^ho  take  up  the  sword  shall  perish  by 
the  sword."  Summoned  to  appear  before  the  king 
Beza  said  :  "  Sire,  it  is  true  that  it  is  the  lot  of  the 
church  of  God,  in  whose  name  I  speak  to  endure 
blows  and  not  to  strike  them  ;  but  may  it  also 
please  you  to  remember  that  it  is  an  anvil  that  has 
worn  out  many  hammers." 

We  shall  not  tell  the  story  of  the  wars  which  for 
the  next  decade  devastated  France.  There  came  at 
last  a  season  when  it  seemed  as  if  the  main  objects 
of  the  Huguenots  had  been  accomplished.  Coligni 
and  his  coadjutors  had  been  everywhere  victorious. 
By  the  treaty  of  St.  Germain  the  Huguenots  were 
granted  four  towns — among  them  La  Rochelle — 
which  they  were  to  hold  and  garrison  as  a  pledge  of 
good  faith.  To  cement  the  treaty  Catharine  de 
Medici  arranged  that  her  beautiful  but  worthless 
daughter,  Marguerite  of  Valois,  should  be  given  in 
marriage  to  Henry,  the  young  king  of  Navarre,  and 


JOHN  CALl'IN.  125 

all  the  oreat  nobles  wore  invited  to  come  to  Paris  to 
share  in  the  festivities. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  speak  at  length  of  the 
ill-fated  alliance  which  is  known  as  the  Bloody 
Wedding.  The  massacre  of  St.  I>arlliol(;mew 
which  immediately  succeeded  it  was  declared  by 
Queen  Elizabeth  of  England  to  have  been  "  the 
most  atrocious  act  committed  by  men  since  the 
crucifixion  of  Christ."  The  chief  actor  in  the 
tragedy  was,  of  course,  Catharine  de  Medici,  the 
evil  genius  of  that  evil  age.  Most  recent  historians 
say  that  she  was  implicated  with  the  duke  of  Guise 
in  a  plot  to  assassinate  Coligni,  who  had  advised 
the  king  to  emancipate  himself  from  his  mother's 
control.  The  murder  was  attempted  but  failed  ; 
the  admiral  w^as  wounded  but  not  killed.  The  ex- 
citement was  intense,  and  it  became  evident  that 
the  instigators  of  the  crime  would  be  discovered. 
In  their  desperation  the  chief  conspirators  persuaded 
the  king  that  he  was  himself  to  be  the  victim  of  a 
great  Huguenot  conspiracy,  and  that  vigorous 
measures  must  be  taken  to  ward  off  the  threatening 
danger.  At  first  the  king  refused  to  listen  to  these 
accusations ;  but  at  last  he  petulantly  exclaimed  : 
"  Well,  if  it  must  be  so,  kill  them  all !  Let  no  one 
be  left  to  reproach  me  with  this  deed."  This  was 
enough  for  the  queen-mother.  Orders  were  secretly 
given  to  the  soldiers  and  to  the  leaders  of  the  papal 
party.    At  midnight,  on  the  24th  of  August,  1572, 


126         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

the  great  bell  of  St.  Germain  V  Auxerrois  rang  the 
alarm  ;  the  king's  soldiers   began   the  massacre  by 
murdering  the  Huguenot  leaders  in  their  lodgings, 
and  it  was  easy  to  give  a  hint  of  what  was  going 
on  to  the  gathering  crowd  that  was  only  too  ready 
to  assist  in  slaying  the  helpless  Protestants.      Any 
one  who  knows  the  canaille  of  Paris  need  not  be 
surprised    at   the   result.      That  fearful    monster, 
loosed  from  its  chains,  had  lasted  blood,  and,  as  on 
many   more    recent    occasions,  it  seemed   as   if  its 
fearful  lust  could  never  be  glutted.      Other  cities 
followed  the  example  of  Paris,  and  thirty  thousand 
— some  say  a  hundred  thousand — of  the  best  men 
and  women  in  France  were  ruthlessly  sacrificed.    In 
many  places,  however,  the  royal  mandate  was  not 
obeyed.       At    Lisieux,    for   instance,    the    Roman 
Catholic  bishop  gathered  the   Huguenots  into  his 
palace  and  protected  them  from  the  fury  of  the 
mob.      Rochelle  and   Sancerre  closed  their  gates, 
and  it  soon  became  evident  that  as  a  means  of  des- 
troying the  Huguenots  the  massacre  had  proved  a 
failure.      On    its    first    anniversary    the    Reformed 
churches  of  France  held  a  synod  at  Montauban,  at 
which  a  formal  demand  was  made  upon  the  court  to 
punish  the  murderers  and  to  reverse  the  attainder 
against  Coligni.      No  wonder  that  Catharine    ex- 
claimed :    "If  Conde   were   living,  and  were  here 
with  fifty  thousand  men,  his  demands  would  not  be 
half  so  bold."     The  Huguenots  had,  however,  suf- 


JOHN  CALVIN.  127 

fered  orcatly  by  the  loss  uf  their  most  Linineiit  men. 
Among  these  was  Pierre  Raniee,  the  most  learned 
man  of  his  time,  and  Claude  Goudimel,  the  cel- 
ebrated musical  composer.  And  Colio^ni,  the 
great,  was  dead  also.  History  has  proved  his  best 
avenger.  Three  hundred  years  after  his  death 
the  city  of  Paris  erected  his  statue  at  the  place  of 
his  assassination.  The  Medicis,  the  Guises,  have 
disappeared  from  history  ;  the  Bourbons  are  exiles 
from  their  native  soil  ;  but  the  direct  deecendant 
of  Coligni — the  representative  of  his  house  and  the 
defender  of  his  faith — is  seated  on  the  imperial 
throne  of  Germany.  ^ 

Let  us  hasten  to  escape  from  the  dreadful  scenes 
of  St.  Bartholomew  !  For  two  years  Henry  of 
Navarre  was  kept  a  prisoner ;  then  he  escaped  and 
put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Huguenots.  After 
strange  vicissitudes  he  gained  his  crowning  victory 
at  Ivry,  in  1590.  In  the  mean  time  events  had 
happened  which  aided  him  in  his  political  purposes. 
The  duke  of  Guise  and  the  cardinal  of  Lorraine 
had  been  slain  by  the  orders  of  the  king,  Henry 
HI.,  who  was  in  turn  assassinated  by  a  fanatical 
priest.  All  serious  obstacles  to  the  triumph  of 
Henry  of  Navarre  appeared  to  be  removed,  and  we 
can  well  appreciate  the  emotions  of  the  Huguenot 


(i)  The  celebrated  Louisa  Henrietta  of  Brandenburg,  mother  of  the 
first  king  of  Prussia,  was  a  granddaughter  of  Coligni. 


128         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

soldier,  so  splendidly  expressed  in  Macaulay's  well- 
known  ballad  on  "The  Battle  of  Ivry." 

The  moment  of  triumph  was,  however,  the  be- 
ginning of  Huguenot  decline.  Henry  of  Navarre, 
who  had  proved  that  he  possessed  the  heroism  of 
his  mother,  now  exhibited  the  weakness  of  his 
father.  Like  the  image  which  the  king  of  Babylon 
beheld  in  his  dream  his  head  was  of  fine  gold,  but 
his  feet  were  partly  of  iron  and  partly  of  clay. 
He  renounced  Protestantism,  after  successfully 
fighting  its  battles,  on  the  ground  that  his  act 
would  bring  peace  to  his  distracted  country.  Paris, 
it  was  said,  would  never  accept  a  Huguenot  king, 
and  Henry  himself  is  said  to  have  flippantly  declared 
that  Paris  was  "  worth  a  mass."  It  is,  however, 
by  no  means  certain  that  he  could  not  have  at- 
tained his  political  ends  without  violence  to  his 
conscience.  His  great  rivals  had  passed  away,  and 
after  another  victory  the  capital  would  probably 
have  received  him.  Huguenot  as  he  was.  Paris 
always  kisses  the  hand  that  smites  her,  if  only  it 
smites  hard  enough. 

It  is  certain  that  by  this  act  of  apostasy  Henry 
IV.  alienated  the  affections  of  the  best  part  of  his 
people.  He  lost  the  confidence  of  the  Protestants 
without  thereby  securing  the  faithful  allegiance  of 
the  Catholics,  and  finally  fell  by  the  dagger  of  a 
fanatic  of  the  faith  which  he  had  assumed. 


JOIIX  CAIA'IN.  12  (J 

Diiiiu^^  his  reioii  Henry  IV.  did  ail  in  his  power 
to  relieve  the  iiiifortuuate  political  and  social  con- 
dition of  his  former  associates.  The  Bdict  of 
Nantes,  which  he  issued  in  1598,  secured  them 
toleration  for  nearly  a  century  ;  but  it  was  bare 
toleration,  and  it  was  under  his  immediate  suc- 
cessor that  Richelieu  introduced  the  policy  of 
repression  which  in  1685  culminated  in  the  revoca- 
tion of  the  edict.  Louis  XIV.  appears  to  have 
imagined  that  the  Huguenots  would  yield  at  once 
to  his  royal  will  ;  and  when  they  refused  to  sacri- 
fice their  faith  and  conscience  his  persecuting  rage 
knew  no  bounds.  In  the  region  of  the  Cevennes 
the  persecuted  people  rose  in  self-defense,  and  for 
ten  years  kept  up  an  unequal  contest  in  which 
they  performed  prodigies  of  valor.  The  sufferings 
of  the  Cevennois  were,  however,  terrific.  Four 
hundred  towns  and  villages  were  reduced  to  ashes 
and  the  country  for  twenty  leagues  was  left  a  desert. 

Though  the  Protestants  were  forbidden  to  leave 
France  multitudes  succeeded  in  making  their  es- 
cape. Wherever  they  went  they  bore  with  them 
artistic  culture  and  the  love  of  liberty. 

Protestantism  in  France  survived  the  dragonades, 
though  it  was  not  until  the  time  of  the  Revolution 
that  it  emerged  entirely  from  the  shadow  of  the 
cross.  In  other  countries  the  exiled  Huguenots 
achieved  the  honor  that  was  denied  them  in  their 
fatherland.      They  laid  the  foundations  of  the  great- 


130         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORM ATIO]Sl, 

ness  of  Prussia  ;  they  rendered  prosperous  the 
manufactures  of  England.  In  America  they  proved 
excellent  pioneers,  and  their  descendants  have  been 
among  our  foremost  citizens.  With  Mrs.  Sigour- 
ney,  who  has  been  termed  their  American  laureate, 
we  may  pray  : 


On  all  who  bear 

Their  name  or  lineage  may  their  mantle  rest- 
That  firmness  for  the  truth,  that  calm  content 
With  simple  pleasures,  that  unswerving  trust 
In  toil,  adversity,  and  death,  which  cast 
Such  healthful  leaven  'mid  the  elements 
That  peopled  the  new  world." 


THOMAS  CRANMER 


V. 
THE  STRUGGLE  OF  THE  CR1<:EDS. 

CRANMER  AND  KNOX. 

DURNG  the  early  stages  of  the  Reformation 
it  seemed  as  if  England  would  remain  un- 
moved. There  had,  indeed,  been  an  attempt 
at  reformation  under  Wycliffe,  but  it  had  been  vio- 
lently suppressed,  and  Lollards  could  be  found  only 
in  obscure  places.  A  little  company  of  scholars, 
led  by  John  Colet  and  Sir  Thomas  More — who 
flourished  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury— have  sometimes  been  called  "the  Oxford 
Reformers  ;"  but  they  were  Humanists — disciples 
of  Erasmus — who  protested  against  the  monastic 
system  and  the  ignorance  which  it  engendered,  but 
were  well  satisfied  to  live  and  die  in  the  commun- 
ion of  the  church  of  Rome.  England  was  slowly- 
recovering  from  the  devastations  of  the  Wars  of  the 
Roses  ;  the  people  desired  above  all  things  peace 
and  quietness,  and  were  subservient  to  their  rulers 
to  a  degree  that  had  been  hitherto  unknown. 

It  was  necessary,  therefore,  that  in  England  the 
way  for  the  Reformation  should  be  prepared  by  a 
series  of  events  that  were  purely  political.  In 
other  countries  the  Reformation  had  been,  first  and 
foremost,  a  religious  movement  ;  its  most  promi- 
nent directors  were  the  men  of  lisrht  and  learninor, 
the  great  theologians,  the  distinguished  orators,  the 


132         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

men  of  genius  of  their  age,  who  directed  the 
thought  and  the  emotions  of  the  people.  Political 
elements  were  subordinated  to  those  which  were 
purely  religious  ;  and  even  in  France  the  secular 
struggle  was  due  to  an  unholy  alliance  which  re- 
sulted in  the  humiliation  of  the  church.  In  Eng- 
land, on  the  other  hand,  the  positions  of  the  relig- 
ious and  political  elements  were  reversed.  The 
Reformation  was  preceded  by  a  great  political 
movement — a  bold  stroke  for  national  autonomy — 
which  in  the  Providence  of  God  opened  the  way 
for  spiritual  deliverance.  It  was  the  all-pervading 
influence  of  royalty — the  repressive  power  of  secular 
authority — that  for  a  time  forced  the  religious  leaders 
into  the  background,  and  compelled  them  to  labor 
in  comparative  obscurity. 

Henry  VIII.,  who  ascended  the  English  throne  in 
1509,  was  for  some  time  the  most  popular  prince  in 
Europe.  His  father,  Henry  VII. — popularly  known 
as  Harry  Tudor — though  the  recognized  represent- 
ative of  the  house  of  Lancaster,  had  been  in  fact  a 
soldier  of  fortune  whose  claim  to  the  throne  was 
based  on  conquest.  To  strengthen  his  defective 
title  he  had  not  only  secured  recognition  by  the 
pope,  but  had  married  Elizabeth,  the  heiress  of  the 
house  of  York.  It  was  not,  however,  until  the 
next  generation  that  the  nation  felt  confident  that 
the  claims  of  the  rival  houses  were  settled,  and 
Henry  VIII.  was  the  personal  pledge  of  peace. 


CRANMER  AND  KNOX.  133 

Henry  VII.  had  been  a  shrewd  man.  Narrow- 
minded  and  venial — avaricious  and  merciless — he 
yet  manifested  extraordinary  skill  in  the  establish- 
ment of  his  dynasty.  Having  two  sons,  the  eldest, 
Arthur,  was  of  course  expected  to  become  his  suc- 
cessor on  the  throne  ;  but  what  to  do  with  the 
younger  son,  Henry,  was  a  difficult  question. 
Younger  sons  have  always  been  the  terrors  of  dynas- 
ties ;  and  in  this  case  the  elder  brother  was  in  men- 
tal and  physical  strength  greatly  excelled  by  the 
younger.  It  was  not  likely  that  Henry  would  be 
permanently  satisfied  with  a  subordinate  position, 
and  who  could  tell  wdiether  the  conflicts  of  the 
brothers  might  not  result  in  a  new  War  of  the 
Roses  ?  Under  these  circumstances  the  king  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  educating  Henry  for  the  church. 
In  this  way  he  hoped  to  remove  him  from  the 
sphere  of  active  politics — for  who  had  ever  heard 
of  a  priest  who  became  a  pretender  to  a  throne? 
And  if  the  king  should  finally  succeed  in  elevating 
him  to  the  position  of  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
might  he  not  hope  to  rule  the  church  of  England 
in  the  person  of  his  son  ?  Henry  was  accordingly 
sent  to  school  and  became  an  excellent  scholar — 
manifesting  special  aptitude  for  theological  study  ; 
and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  he  was  in  later 
days  the  real  author  of  the  works  which  bear  his 
name. 


134         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

Having  thus,  as  he  supposed,  provided  for  his 
second  son,  the  king  proceeded  to  negotiate  a  mar- 
riage for  Arthur.  Money  was  the  first  considera- 
tion, and  he  accordingly  made  application  for  the 
hand  of  one  of  the  daughters  of  Ferdinand  of  Spain, 
who  was  the  richest  monarch  in  Europe.  The 
covetous  heart  of  the  king  of  England  rejoiced 
when  the  negotiations  proved  successful  and  the 
first  remittance  of  Spanish  doubloons  was  poured 
into  his  treasury.  In  those  days  young  folks  had 
little  to  say  in  such  matters,  and  Catherine  vainly 
protested  when  she  was  sent  to  what  she  regarded 
as  a  lard  of  barbarians.  On  the  14th  of  November, 
1 50 1,  she  was  married  to  Prince  Arthur,  who  was 
but  fifteen  years  old.  Less  than  four  months  after 
the  marriage  her  husband  died  of  consumption  and 
Catherine  was  left  a  widow. 

The  state  of  affairs  was  now  materially  changed. 
In  June,  1502,  Henry  assumed  the  title  of  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  was  declared  heir  to  the  kingdom.  But 
what  was  to  be  done  with  the  dowager  princess 
Catherine  of  Arragon,  who  was  now  decidedly  de 
trop  ?  The  king  of  Spain  insisted  that  his  daugh- 
ter's dowry  must  be  returned,  and  that  she  m^ust 
annually  receive  a  share  of  the  revenues  of  the 
principality  of  Wales.  As  Ferdinand  was  strong 
enough  to  enforce  his  claim,  the  king  of  England 
at  first  saw  no  way  out  of  the  difficulty,  except  to 
refund  the  dowry  ;  and  if  there  was  anything  which 


CRANiVER  AND  KNOX.  135 

he  detested  it  was  to  pay  debts.  At  last  he  con- 
ceived the  bold  expedient  of  maiTving  the  princess 
to  his  younger  sou.  It  was  in  direct  opposition  to 
the  canonical  law  for  a  man  to  marry  his  deceased 
brother's  wife;  but  it  was  insisted  that  Artlnir's 
marriage  had  been  merely  formal,  and  the  pope  was 
persuaded  to  grant  a  dispensation.  Prince  Henry 
formally  protested  ;  but  the  miserable  affair  was 
carried  on  to  its  appointed  conclusion. 

For  twenty  years  Henry  and  Catherine  lived 
together  without  scandal,  but  they  had  little  in 
common.  Henry  was  ambitious  and  tyrannical  ; 
Catherine  haughty,  if  not  melancholy,  and  ex- 
tremely devout  after  the  Spanish  fashion.  They 
had  several  children,  but  they  died  in  infancy,  ex- 
cept one  sickly  princess,  Mary.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  the  king  convinced  himself  that  his 
marriage  was  incestuous,  on  the  ground  that  the 
pope  had  transcended  his  authority  in  granting  a 
dispensation  for  marriage  with  a  deceased  brother's 
wife.  After  he  met  Anne  Boleyn,  the  daughter  of 
the  earl  of  Wiltshire,  his  convictions  on  this  sub- 
ject w^ere  decidedly  strengthened,  and  soon  after- 
ward began  the  proceedings  for  a  divorce  from 
Catherine  which  constitute  one  of  the  most  un- 
pleasant pages  in  English  history.  Popes  were  in 
those  days  inclined  to  be  subservient  to  crowned 
heads  ;  and  if  Catherine  had  been  a  princess  of  in- 
ferior degree  it  may  perhaps  be  taken  for  granted 


136         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION, 

that  Clement  would  have  acceded  to  Henry's  wishes 
without  delay  ;  but  she  was  an  infanta  of  Spain, 
and  the  aunt  of  the  emperor,  Charles  V.,  who 
breathed  threatenings  and  slaughter  if  the  decree 
of  divorce  should  be  granted.  No  wonder  that 
Macaulay  pities  the  pope  who  stood  between  the 
fiend  and  the  flood.  After  all,  Spain  and  Germany 
were  more  powerful  than  England,  and  the  papal 
decree  was  withheld.  Henry,  however,  was  not  a 
man  whose  purposes  could  be  crossed  with  im- 
punity. Cardinal  Wolsey,  his  prime  minister, 
lived  in  royal  state  while  he  aided  his  master  in  his 
efforts  to  secure  the  divorce,  but  when  he  ventured 
to  remonstrate  he  fell.  Thomas  Cromwell  was  ad- 
vanced to  high  station  for  advising  the  king  to  de- 
clare himself  su premie  head  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land ;  and  it  was  mainly  through  his  influence  that 
the  monastic  system  was  abrogated  ;  but  at  last  he 
too  became  a  victim  of  the  tyrant's  wrath. 

Henry  VHI.  had  no  love  for  Protestantism.  To 
the  end  of  his  life  his  views  on  most  doctrinal 
questions  v/ere  the  same  as  when  he  wrote  his  book 
against  Luther.  It  was  his  purpose  to  preserve  the 
ancient  system  in  its  minutest  particulars,  with  the 
single  exception  that  in  the  church,  no  less  than  in 
the  state,  he  recognized  no  higher  authority  than 
his  own.  By  the  act  of  supremacy  he  was  recog- 
nized as  the  head  of  the  Church  of  England,  and 
interference  with  his  prerogative  was  construed  as 


CRANMER  AND  KNOX.  137 

treason.  The  kiiii^  was  practically  the  pope  of 
England,  and  there  was  no  room  for  any  other 
papal  authority.  He  therefore  persecuted  Protest- 
ants and  Romanists  alike,  and  though  his  conflict 
with  the  iu)pe  no  doubt  facilitated  the  introduction 
of  Protestantism,  it  is  not  just  to  call  him  the 
founder  of  the  Protestant  Church  of  England. 

It  was  not  until  after  the  fall  of  Cromwell,  in 
1540,  that  Thomas  Cranmer  became  the  most  influ- 
ential subject  in  the  realm,  though  he  had  held  for 
seven  years  the  highest  ecclesiastical  office.  Con- 
cerning Cranmer's  early  life  little  is  known.  He 
was  born  of  respectable  parentage  at  Aslacton,  in 
Nottinghamshire,  July  2,  1489  ;  and  was  educated 
at  Cambridge,  where  he  became  a  lecturer  in  the- 
ology. Until  he  was  forty  years  old  no  one  sup- 
posed that  he  would  ever  be  anything  but  one  of 
the  magnates  of  the  university.  The  circumstances 
which  led  to  his  exaltation  were  in  their  w^ay  suffi- 
ciently romantic.  In  the  summer  of  1529  the 
plague  known  as  "the  sv/eating  sickness"  broke 
out  in  Cambridge,  and  Cranmer  accompanied  two  of 
his  pupils,  named  Cressy,  to  their  father's  house  at 
Walthani  Abbey,  in  Essex.  At  this  time  the  king's 
suit  for  a  divorce  had  begun  before  Cardinals  Wol- 
sey  and  Campeggio  in  England,  but  the  court  had 
been  prorogued,  and  it  was  generally  believed  that 
in  consequence  of  the  queen's  appeal  the  cause 
w^ould  be  removed  to  Rome.      In  great  perplexity 


138         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

the  kinor,  with  the  two  cardinals,  retired  to  Walt- 
ham,  and  it  so  happened  that  two  of  his  chief  coun- 
sellors, Fox  and  Gardiner,  lodged  at  Mr.  Cressy's 
house  while  Cranmer  w^as  there.  The  three  guests 
were  old  college  friends  and  naturally  discussed  the 
chief  topic  of  the  day  ;  and  Cranmer  remarked 
that  if  the  universities  and  lawyers  should  decide 
that  marriage  with  a  deceased  brother's  widow  was 
illegal,  notwithstanding  the  pope's  dispensation, 
the  divorce  might  be  granted  by  the  ordinary  eccle- 
siastical courts,  without  appealing  to  Rome.  When 
this  opinion  was  reported  to  the  king  he  is  said  to 
have  exclaimed  :  "  I  will  see  this  man.  Let  him  be 
sent  for  out  of  hand.  The  man,  I  trow,  has  the 
right  sow  by  the  ear." 

At  his  first  interview  with  the  king  Cranmer  was 
ordered  to  lay  aside  all  other  business  and  to  devote 
himself  entirely  to  the  matter  of  the  divorce  From 
this  time  his  advancement  was  rapid.  He  was  suc- 
cessively sent  on  missions  to  the  pope  and  emperor, 
but  accomplished  little.  On  his  way,  however,  he 
met  several  of  the  Protestant  princes ;  and  at 
Nuremberg  was  married  to  a  niece  of  the  cel- 
ebrated theologian  Osiander.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  even  at  this  time  his  sentiments  were 
decidedly  favorable  to  the  Protestants,  but  he  had 
to  sing  low  in  the  king's  presence.  It  was  while 
he  was  in  Germany  that  he  was  nominated  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  and  it  became  necessary  to 


CRANMER  AM)  KXOX.  139 

keep  his  inarriai;e  a  profound  secret.  Indeed,  for  a 
lont;^  time  the  archbishop's  family  remained  in 
obscurity  ;  and  there  is  a  somewhat  doubtful  story 
that  when  traveling-  he  conveyed  his  wife  in  a 
chest,  which  on  one  occasion  a  stupid  porter  upset 
and  thus  led  to  the  discovery  of  tlie  inmate,  who 
called  lustily  for  help. 

That  Cranmer  did  not  desire  the  office  of  arch- 
bishop may  well  be  believed.  It  involved  great 
responsibilities  ;  and  a  braver  man  might  well  have 
hesitated  before  he  assumed  them.  The  will  of  the 
king,  was,  however,  practically  irresistible  ;  and 
Cranmer  yielded  without  loud  murmurings.  He 
may,  indeed,  have  regarded  it  preferable  to  run  the 
risk  of  losing  his  head  as  archbishop  than  to  lose 
it  for  refusing  to  accept  the  office.  It  was  known 
at  Rome  that  Cranmer  w^as  favorable  to  the  divorce, 
but  the  pope  yielded  to  the  king's  importunity  and 
the  consecration  was  speedily  authorized.  The 
peculiar  position  of  the  new  archbishop  is  indicated 
by  the  fact  that  before  his  consecration  he  made  a 
protest  that  the  oath  of  obedience  to  the  pope  was  to 
be  taken  by  him  merely  as  a  matter  of  form,  and 
that  it  should  not  bind  him  to  anything  against  the 
king,  or  prevent  him  from  reforming  anything  that 
he  found  amiss  in  the  church  of  England.  He  also 
took  an  oath  to  the  king  renouncing  all  grants 
from  the  pope  that  might  be  prejudicial  to  his 
highness. 


140         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

Cranmer  appears  to  have  regarded  himself  as 
simply  an  instrument  of  the  king's  will.  To  him 
the  doctrine  of  royal  supremacy  was  fundamental. 
No  fanatical  Romanist  ever  regarded  the  papacy 
with  greater  reverence  than  that  which  he  felt  for 
royalty.  The  king  was  to  him  the  visible  repre- 
sentative of  the  divine  presence,  and  there  was  no 
room  for  divided  allegiance  on  the  part  of  his  sub- 
jects. That  the  king  could  do  wrong  was  hardly 
conceivable  ;  but  at  all  events  it  was  he  who  was 
responsible  for  the  faith  and  conduct  of  his  people, 
and  the  individual  who  presumed  to  oppose  his 
private  opinions  to  the  royal  decree  was  guilty  oi 
heresy  and  treason.  It  was  in  fact  the  theory 
which  was  subsequently  systematically  presented 
by  Hobbes  in  his  "Leviathan,"  and  which  led  to 
the  long  conflicts  between  the  king  and  parliament, 
finally  resulting  in  the  fall  of  the  royal  house  of 
Stuart. 

That  Cranmer  was  not  of  the  stuff  of  which 
heroes  are  made  will  be  readily  acknowledged  ;  but 
a  hero  would  in  those  days  have  been  strangely  out 
of  place  in  the  position  which  he  occupied.  His- 
torians have  treated  him  with  scant  courtesy,  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  had  to  take  great 
leaps  and  turn  sharp  corners  to  keep  up  with  his 
royal  master  ;  but  we  think  they  have  generally 
failed  to  recognize  the  extent  to  which  unquestion- 
ing obedience  to  the  king  had  become  with  him  a 


CRANMER  AND  KNOX.  1 41 

matter  of  conscience.  Personal!}'  timid,  lie  was 
stronc^  only  when  supported  by  a  royal  mandate. 
Naturally  kind  and  gentle,  he  sometimes  ventured 
to  plead  for  the  victims  of  the  kind's  wrath  ;  he 
even  beijored  the  kino-  to  have  mercv  on  Cardinal 
Fisher  and  Sir  Thomas  More,  who  were  not  his 
friends  ;  but  he  always  spoiled  his  petitions  by  con- 
cluding them  with  a  recognition  of  the  transcend- 
ent wisdom  of  the  monarch,  and  an  expression  of 
his  willingness  to  submit  to  his  enlightened  will. 
At  the  kinor's  direction  the  matter  of  the  divorce 
w^as  soon  after  his  consecration  removed  to  the  arch- 
episcopal  court,  and  from  this  time  forward  every- 
thing was  done  in  accordance  with  the  king's  desire. 
Queen  Catherine  declined  to  appear  and  was  de- 
clared contumacious  ;  and  the  archbishop  gave 
judgment  declaring  the  marriage  null  and  void  from 
the  first.  "In  the  whole  proceeding,"  says  the 
Kncyclopasdia  Brittanica,  "  the  archbishop's  sub- 
serviency was  pitiful,  and  it  is  difficult  to  acquit 
him  of  the  graver  charge  of  knowingly  pronouncing 
an  unrighteous  sentence." 

It  was  the  policy  of  the  king  to  pay  ostensibly 
the  greatest  deference  to  the  church  while  compel- 
ling the  church  to  yield  absolute  obedience  to  his 
caprices.  As  official  head  of  the  church  of  Eng- 
land Cranmer  was  made  to  appear  as  the  king's 
chief  adviser,  while  in  fact  he  was  constantly  occu- 
pied  ill   finding  excuses  for  his  master's  conduct. 


142         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

It  was  less  dangerous  to  attack  the  arcL bishop  than 
to  criticize  the  king,  and  the  former  was  naturally 
made  the  chief  targets  of  the  opponents  of  the 
royal  policy.  If  he  had  ventured  to  interfere  wdth 
the  accomplishment  of  the  king's  purposes  his  life 
would,  of  course,  have  been  forfeited ;  and  it  is 
marvellous  that  during  all  these  trying  years  he 
was  able  to  retain  his  master's  confidence. 

There  is  evidence  that  in  his  official  acts  Cran- 
mer  was  constantly  constrained  by  royal  authority. 
When,  in  1535,  queen  Ann  Boleyn  was  arrested 
and  sent  to  the  tower,  her  old  chaplain  the  arch- 
bishop was  ordered  to  come  up  from  the  country  to 
Lambeth  to  hold  himself  in  readiness  till  further 
intimation  was  made  of  the  king's  pleasure.  He 
was  in  fact  virtually  a  prisoner  until  it  became 
evident  that  he  would  officially  annul  the  mon- 
arch's second  marriage. 

To  follow  the  public  career  of  Cranmer  in  all  its 
particulars  is  beyond  our  purpose.  We  recognize 
his  weakness  and  have  no  desire  to  become  his 
apologist.  In  his  purely  ecclesiastical  relations  he 
appears,  however,  in  a  light  which  is  altogether 
more  favorable.  It  is  evident  that  he  thoroughly 
appreciated  the  evils  that  oppressed  Christendom 
and  labored  earnestly  for  their  removal.  His  the- 
ology, it  is  true,  was  not  so  decidedly  Protestant  as 
it  afterwards  became,  but  he  steadily  pursued  the 
policy  which    has  associated   his    name   with    the 


CRANiMER  AND  KNOX.  143 

development  of  the  RefoTiiiation  in  lui^^laiul.  He 
promoted  the  circulation  of  the  Bible  in  the  ver- 
nacular, and  procured  an  order,  in  1538,  that  a  copy 
of  the  Scriptures  should  be  placed  in  every  church 
in  a  convenient  place  for  reading.  He  also  be,((an 
his  labors  in  the  revision  of  the  ritual  of  the  church, 
and  translated  the  Gernian  Catechism  of  Justus 
Jonas,  known  as  Cranmer's  Catechism,  which,  how- 
ever, was  not  published  until  after  the  death  of 
King  Henry. 

At  last,  on  the  28th  of  January,  1547,  the  tyrant 
of  England  died.  Cranmer  was  with  him  in  his 
last  illness,  and  after  his  death  read  masses  for  the 
repose  of  his  soul.  From  our  present  standpoint  it 
is  difficult  to  form  a  proper  conception  of  Henry 
Vni.  "In  some  of  his  acts,"  says  Sir  James 
Mackintosh,  "  he  approaches  as  nearly  to  the 
standard  of  perfect  wickedness  as  the  infirmities 
of  human  nature  will  allow."  Yet  on  the  other 
hand  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  he  was  the  most 
learned  prince  of  his  age  ;  and  that  he  possessed  a 
certain  personal  magnetism  which  attracted  men  of 
all  classes  to  his  service  and  secured  their  unques- 
tioning obedience.  During  his  reign  England 
grew  stronger,  and  his  opposition  to  Rome  gave 
room  for  the  development  of  the  new  life  which  re- 
vealed itself  in  the  reigns  of  his  successors.  When 
he  died  the  way  was  open  for  the  establishment  of 
the  Protestant  church  of  England. 


144         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

On  the  death  of  Henry  VIII.  the  succession  de- 
volved on  his  son  Edward  VI.  who  was  but  ten 
years  of  age.  Cranmer  was  named  in  the  royal 
testament  as  one  of  the  council  to  govern  the  realm 
during  the  young  king's  minority  ;  but  it  does  not 
appear  that  he  exerted  much  influence  in  secular 
matters.  The  government  was  actually  in  the 
hands  of  the  duke  of  Somerset,  and,  as  in  the 
former  reign,  Cranmer  was  content  to  follow  when 
he  might  have  led.  At  the  coronation  of  the  young 
king  he  took  out  a  new  commission  to  discharge  his 
archepiscopal  functions,  acknowledging  in  a  public 
address  that  all  jurisdiction,  ecclesiastical  and  secu- 
lar alike,  emanated  from  the  sovereign. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Reformation  was  develop- 
ing in  a  way  that  must  have  filled  Cranmer  with 
anxiety.  He  saw  that  the  time  for  a  great  change 
had  come,  and  he  himself  recognized  its  necessity. 
In  doctrine  he  agreed  in  a  general  way  with  the 
reformers  of  the  Continent  ;  but  as  regards  organi- 
zation and  discipline  he  was  unwilling  to  depart 
from  the  ancient  precedents  of  the  realm.  He  was 
fond  of  the  splendor  of  ancient  ceremonials,  and 
was  determined  at  all  hazards  to  maintain  the  clos- 
est connection  between  the  church  and  civil  gov- 
ernment. Cranmer  is  often  called  the  first  Protest- 
ant archbishop  of  England,  but  if  this  term  is  ad- 
mitted it  must  be  with  many  qualifications. 
Protestantism,  as  we  understand  it,  was  in  Germany 


CRANMI'.R  A.\n  kWOX.  145 

just  assiiinino-  a  settled  form  ;  while  in  ICn^^land 
there  was  everywhere  confusion  and  conflict.  The 
reforming  and  the  conservative  or  Romanising  par- 
ties had  barely  tolerated  each  other  during  the  pre- 
ceding reign  ;  now  it  was  hardly  possible  to  keep 
them  within  the  same  organization.  Both  parties 
had  abjured  the  pope's  jurisdiction  and  had  admitted 
the  king's  supremacy ;  but  now  that  the  heavy 
hand  of  King  Henry  had  been  removed  they  pulled 
in  different  directions.  There  was  great  danger 
that  Protestantism  would  assume  the  extravagant 
character  which  had  characterized  the  Anabaptist 
movement  in  Germany  ;  and  it  was  due  in  great 
measure  to  the  efforts  of  Archbishop  Cranmer  that 
the  reformation  in  England  received  the  conserva- 
tive form  by  which  it  has  ever  since  been  distin- 
guished. 

King  Edward  VI.  was  a  precocious  boy  who 
fully  comprehended  the  great  questions  at  issiie,in 
the  controversies  of  his  times.  He  had  been  trained 
by  his  father's  sixth  wife,  Catharine  Parr,  a  woman 
of  great  learning  who  was  a  decided  Protestant. 
Though  a  child  in  years  he  corresponded  with  the 
theologians  of  the  continent,  and  personally  took 
an  important  part  in  the  construction  of  the  liturgy 
of  the  church  of  England. 

The  first  important  act  of  Reformation  on  the 
part  of  the  new  government  concerned  the  abolish- 
ment of  ancient  ceremonies,  such  as  the  carrying  of 


146         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

candles  on  Candlemas,  and  the  use  of  ashes  on  Ash 
Wednesday.  The  removal  of  images  from  the 
churches,  which  had  been  previously  ordered,  was 
also  insisted  on,  much  to  the  wrath  of  Stephen 
Gardiner,  bishop  of  Winchester,  the  ablest  man  of 
the  old  conservative  party  ;  but  Ridley  and  old 
Hugh  Latimer  preached  against  these  "  helps  to  de- 
votion "  with  so  much  fire  and  enthusiasm  that 
even  the  royal  authority  would  hardly  have  sufficed 
to  keep  them  there. 

The  church  of  England,  as  it  appeared  in  the 
reign  of  Edward  VI. ,  was  undoubtedly  to  some  ex- 
tent of  the  nature  of  a  compromise.  The  leaders 
were  generally  desirous  of  assimilating  the  church 
to  the  Reformed  churches  of  the  Continent,  and 
every  doctrinal  expression  was  decidedly  Protestant  ; 
a  large  party,  on  the  other  hand,  insisted  that  the 
peculiarities  of  the  ancient  church  must  be  scrupu- 
lously preserved.  The  episcopal  office  held  so  prom- 
inent a  place  in  the  civil  order  that  the  government 
desired  that  it  should  be  retained.  Calvin  and  Bul- 
linger  were  consulted  on  the  subject,  and  neither 
objected  to  the  episcopal  form  of  government,  but 
advised  that  the  religious  services  should  be  "  clean 
and  without  pomp."  When  Hooper  was,  in  1550, 
appointed  bishop  of  Gloucester  he  objected  to 
wearing  the  robes  ;  but  Bullinger  advised  him  to 
accommodate  himself  in  such  minor  matters  to  the 
policy  of  the  government.     John  Knox,  of  Scot- 


CRANMER  AM)  KNOX.  147 

land,  WAS  ofTered  an  Imi^^HsIi  bishopric,  bnt  lie  was 
of  sterner  nionld  tlian  tliose  wlio  accepted  these  so- 
called  adiapJiora  and  declined  the  office. 

Cranmer's  relations  to  the  Continental  reformers 
gradually  became  intimate.  At  first  he  was  strongly 
attracted  by  the  writings  of  Luther,  but  all  attempts 
to  negotiate  terms  of  union  with  the  German  Pro- 
testants proved  unsuccessful  in  consequence  of  the 
prejudice  of  the  king  and  many  ot  the  bishops. 
At  a  later  period  Cranmer  entered  into  an  intimate 
correspondence  with  the  Swiss  divines,  and  in  the 
sacramental  controversy  the  church  of  England  was 
recognized  as  standing  on  the  Reformed  side.  In 
1536,  just  after  the  king's  marriage  to  Jane  Sey- 
mour, Cranmer  had  been  introduced  by  Prof. 
Simon  Grynaeus,  of  Strasburg,  to  Henry  Bullinger, 
the  successor  of  Zwingli  as  antistes,  or  chief-pastor 
of  the  church  of  Zurich.  In  the  same  year  Cran- 
mer sent  to  Zurich  three  young  Englishmen,  John 
Butler,  William  Woodruff,  and  Nicholas  Partridge, 
for  the  purpose  of  studying  theology  and  becoming 
acquainted  with  the  Swiss  churches.  They  re- 
mained there  more  than  a  year  and  on  their  return 
to  England  were  accompanied  by  Rudolph  Gualter, 
who  afterwards  married  Zwingli's  daughter,  Regula, 
and  became  the  third  antistes  of  the  church  of  Zu- 
rich. In  the  succeeding  reign  the  king  sent 
Christopher  ]^.Iont  to  Zurich  with  a  letter  to  Bull- 
increr  in  which  he  desired  a  closer  union  between 


148         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORBIAJION. 

the  churches  of  England  and  Switzerland  ;  and  in 
1747,  according  to  Peslalozzi,  the  Swiss  churches 
were  officially  informed  that  the  church  of  England 
had  accepted  the  Reformed  doctrine  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.  Soon  afterwards  Cranmer  invited  a  num- 
ber of  eminent  Reformed  theologians  to  settle  in 
England  to  give  advice  to  the  king's  council  con- 
cerning the  reformation  of  the  church.  Among 
these  were  Martin  Bucer,  Peter  Martyr,  Fagius, 
Ochino,  A'Lasco,  and  other  distinguished  men. 
Some  of  these  men  were  actively  engaged  in  the 
preparation  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and 
all  of  them  exerted  an  important  influence  in  the 
development  of  the  Reformation  in  England.  For 
this  work  Bucer  was  especially  well  prepared,  hav- 
ing in  1 541  assisted  Herman  V.,  archbishop  of 
Cologne,  who  proposed  to  introduce  the  Reforma- 
tion into  his  diocese  without  making  greater  changes 
in  the  government  and  ritual  of  the  church  than 
were  absolutely  necessary.  The  movement,  how^- 
ever,  had  proved  unsuccessful  and  the  good  arch- 
bishop was  compelled  to  resign  his  office.  In  Eng- 
land Bucer' s  preliminary  liturgical  studies  proved 
of  great  value.  The  English  ritual  w^as  founded 
on  the  old  missal  of  Sarum,  but  it  was  modified 
and  improved  according  to  the  necessities  of  the 
times,  and  the  result  w^as  an  order  of  worship  w^hich 
for  dignity  and  excellence  of  style  has  hardly  an 
equal  among  the  liturgies  of  the  church. 


CRANMllR  AND  KNOX. 


149 


The  brief  icigii  of  Kdward  VI.  appears  to  have 
been  set  aside  by  Providence  as  a  proper  time  for 
the  ort^anization  of  the  Protestant  clnirch  of  Eng- 
land. Compared  with  preceding  and  succeeding 
reigns  it  is  a  green  oasis  in  the  midst  of  the  desert. 
Cranmer,  supported  by  the  royal  will,  accomplished 
wonders  in  behalf  of  the  cause  to  which  lie  was  sin- 
cerely attached,  and  every  see  was  soon  occupied  by 
its  stout  defenders.  These  men  exerted  an  impor- 
tant influence  in  determining  the  external  form  of 
the  church  of  England,  but  it  was  not  from  them, 
we  feel  assured,  that  it  derived  its  profoundest  life. 
In  the  best  sense  it  was  a  popular  movement,  and 
from  the  beginning  it  produced  numerous  examples 
of  piety  and  self-sacrificing  devotion.  As  regards 
the  organization  of  the  church,  whatever  its  enemies 
may  have*  said,  history  has  shown  that  Cranmer 
and  his  coadjutors  well  understood  the  requirements 
of  their  age  and  nation.  With  all  its  imperfec- 
tions— due  chiefly  to  its  close  connection  with  the 
state — the  church  of  England  has  proved  a  mighty 
power  for  good — decorous  and  beautiful — and  en- 
deared to  millions  of  loving  children. 

To  the  Protestant  cause  the  death  of  the  young 
king,  in  1553,  was  a  dreadful  calamity.  Foreseeing 
the  event  Edward  had  endeavored  to  chanee  the 
succession  to  the  throne  in  favor  of  his  cousin. 
Lady  Jane  Grey.  Here  Cranmer  committed  a 
grievous  error.      Influenced  partly  by  dread  of  the 


150         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

reaction  which  was  sure  to  come  with  the  accession 
of  Mary,  and  partly  perhaps  by  the  personal  pecu- 
liarity which  could  refuse  nothing  to  a  crowned 
head,  he  contradicted  his  former  action  by  which 
the  order  of  succession  had  been  established. 
English  ideas  of  legitimacy  were  too  strong  to  be 
overcome,  and  by  approving  the  king's  testament 
Cranmer  sealed  his  fate.  Mary,  the  daughter  of 
Catherine  of  Arragon,  had  little  difficulty  in  secur- 
ing the  throne,  and  Lady  Jane,  who  against  her 
will  had  been  declared  queen  of  England  was,  after 
a  nominal  reign  of  nine  days,  committed  to  the 
tower.  There,  after  the  failure  of  the  second  at- 
tempt in  her  favor,  she  died  on  the  scaffold. 

It  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  Queen  Mary  ever 
intended  to  spare  Cranmer,  whom  she  regarded  as 
mainly  instrumental  in  securing  her  father's 
divorce  and  thus  affixing  a  stain  to  her  own  legiti- 
macy. It  is  true,  indeed,  that  when  he  was  con- 
demned for  treason  for  having  caused  Lady  Jane  to 
be  proclaimed.  Queen  Mary  refused  to  authorize  his 
execution  ;  but  he  was  kept  in  prison,  and  his 
office  was  declared  forfeited.  It  is  plain  that  his 
enemies  proposed  to  inflict  a  punishment  more 
terrible  than  an  ordinary  execution  on  political 
grounds. 

Cranmer  remained  in  prison,  while  his  friends 
Ridley  and  Latimer  were  conveyed  to  their  place 
of  martyrdom,  without  having  been  granted  an  op- 


C/C.IA'J/ZCA'  AND  A'.VOX.  151 

portuiiity  of  (kkiidin^i^  thc-inscU'es  aiLi^ainst  their 
accusers.  Their  licroisia  in  this  tr\inc;'  liour  lias 
left  its  cficct  on  all  snbsc(jnent  generations  : 

"  For  thus  said  aged  L,atimer  : 

I  tarry  by  the  stake, 
Not  trusting  in  my  own  weak  heart, 

But  lor  tlie  Saviour's  sake. 
Why  speak  of  life  or  death  to  mc 

Wliuse  days  are  but  a  span? 
Our  crown  is  yonder  — Ridlej',  see  ! 

Be  strong  and  play  the  man  ! 
God  helping,  such  a  torch  this  day 

We'll  light  on  English  land, 
That  Rome,  with  all  her  cardinals, 
Shall  never  quench  the  brand." 

During  his  imprisonment  the  weaknesses  of 
Cranmer's  character  became  painfully  apparent. 
His  enemies  almost  seem  to  have  played  with  him 
— summoning  him  to  Rome  when  he  was  in  prison, 
and  then  condemning  him  for  contumaciousness ; 
holding  out  delusive  hopes  of  pardon,  and  thus  in- 
ducing him  to  recant  his  former  teachings.  He 
signed  no  less  than  six  documents  in  which  he  re- 
pudiated Protestantism,  urging  all  heretics  to  re- 
turn to  the  unity  of  the  church.  His  enemies  had 
planned  a  crowning  act  of  triumph.  It  w^as  de- 
termined that  he  must  die,  but  before  his  final  con- 
demnation he  w^as  required  to  make  a  public  con- 
fession ;  but  at  last  he  turned  upon  his  enemies, 
retracted  his  former  statements,  and  declared  his 
firm  adherence  to  the  Protestant  faith.  At  the 
same  time  he  declared  that  inasmuch  as  his  hand 


152         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

had  offended  in  writing  contrary  to  the  convictions 
of  his  heart  ;  it  should  be  the  first  to  suffer  ;  and 
when  he  was  chained  to  the  stake,  and  the  fire  be- 
gan to  burn  near  him,  he  thrust  his  right  hand  into 
the  flame,  exclaiming  :  *' This  hand  hath  offended." 

The  death  of  Cranmer  was  the  signal  for  the 
flight  of  all  decided  Protestants  who  could  find 
their  way  out  of  England.  Zurich  was  crowded 
with  English  refugees,  and  the  Swiss  were  some- 
times put  to  great  straits  in  entertaining  them. 
After  the  refugees  returned  to  England,  Bishops 
Parkhurst,  Jewell,  and  Horn  sent  gifts  of  silver 
plate  in  recognition  of  the  kindness  of  the  Swiss 
churches.  There  was  a  tendency  to  minimize  dif- 
ferences ;  and  even  to  this  day  continental  writers 
generally  recognize  the  church  of  England  as  one 
of  the  Reformed  churches.  ''  The  Anglican,  that 
is,  the  English  church,"  says  Stilling,  "is  differ- 
ent from  the  rest  of  the  Reformed  church  only  in 
this,  that  it  has  an  episcopal  form  of  government. 
Are  the  Swedish  and  Danish  churches  not  Lutheran 
because  they  have  bishops?  Does  the  garment 
make  the  man  ?' ' 

During  the  reign  of  Mary  every  effort  was  made 
to  restore  England  to  Roman  obedience.  Cardinal 
Pole  became  Cranmer's  successor  in  the  see  of 
Canterbury ;  but  Bishops  Gardiner  and  Bonner 
were,  we  suppose,  chiefly  responsible  for  the  so- 
called  "  Marian  persecutions."     The  queen  was  not 


CRANMER  AM)  KNOX.  153 

naturally  criu-l,  but  she  was  unfortunate  and  un- 
happy. Her  marriage  to  Philip  II.  of  Spain  was, 
on  her  part,  apparently  prompted  by  sincere  aflec- 
tion  ;  but  he  maltreated  and  deserted  her.  To  win 
his  favor  she  imitiited  his  nietliods  of  dealing  with 
religious  dissenters  ;  but  she  gained  nothing  but  the 
reputation  of  a  bloody  persecutor.  You  may  re- 
member that  on  English  money,  coined  in  1555, 
the  faces  of  the  royal  pair  are  represented  side  by 
side  and  pretty  close  to  each  other,  and  that  Butler, 
with  keenest  satire,  says,  in  "Hudibras,"  that  cer- 
tain lovers  look 

— "  amorous,  aud  fond,  and  billing, 
lyike  Philip  and  Mar>-  on  a  shilling." 

Mary,  like  Julian  the  apostate  in  the  early  his- 
tory of  the  cliurch,  ventured  to  become  the  cham- 
pion of  a  lost  cause.  It  was  too  late  ;  and  at  the 
end  of  her  britf  reign  the  church  of  Rome  was 
weaker  than  at  its  beginning.  In  1558  Mary  was 
taken  with  an  intermittent  fever,  and  it  soon  be- 
came evident  that  it  would  prove  fatal.  When 
death  approached  the  venial  crowd  of  courtiers  has- 
tened to  make  their  peace  with  the  Princess  Eliza- 
beth, and  Mary  was  left  to  die  alone. 

We  pass  rapidly  over  the  reforms  in  the  English 
church  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  For  some 
months  after  her  accession  the  struggle  of  the 
creeds  was  intense,  and  it  seemed  doubtful  which 
side  the  queen  would  take.      She  had,  it  is  true, 


154         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

been  educated  under  Protestant  influences,  but  dur- 
ing the  reign  of  Mary  she  had  kept  her  head  on 
her  shoulders  by  professing  her  sister's  creed.  She 
was  the  best  educated  woman  in  England,  and  un- 
doubtedly sympathized  with  the  spirit  of  progress 
v^^hich  was  best  represented  by  the  Protestant 
Reformation  ;  but  she  also  loved  the  splendor  of 
the  ancient  church  and  desired  to  preserve  its  ritual. 
There  are  writers  who  believe  that  if  the  pope  of 
Rome  had  promptly  acknowledged  Elizabeth  as 
queen  of  England  a  schism  might  have  been 
avoided  ;  but  this  is  hardly  probable.  Elizabeth 
was  too  m.uch  like  her  father  to  have  been  satisfied 
with  any  position  inferior  to  that  of  supreme 
governor  of  the  church  of  England. 

The  queen  had  carefully  studied  the  religious 
questions  of  the  age,  and  possessed  the  gift  of  ex- 
pressing herself  in  aphoristic  language,  which  cre- 
ated the  impression  of  extraordinary  wisdom  and 
yet  left  her  practically  uncommitted  to  any  distinc- 
tive view.  Take,  for  instance,  her  celebrated  utter- 
ance on  the  Lord's  Supper  : 

"  Christ  was  the  word  that  spake  it ; 
He  took  the  bread  and  brake  it ; 
And  what  His  word  did  make  it, 
That  I  believe,  and  take  it." 

The  age  of  Elizabeth  can  hardly  be  regarded  as 
in  the  highest  sense  religions.  It  was  a  splendid 
epoch  in  literary  history  ;  the  age,  we  remember, 


CRANMER  AND  KNOX.  155 

of  the  ^i^reat  poets,  Spenser,  Jonsoii,  and  vSliaks- 
peare  ;  of  great  thinkers  like  Bacon  and  Sir  Thomas 
Browne  ;  of  clei^ant  courtiers  and  men  of  letters, 
like  Sir  Philip  Sidney  and  Sir  Walter  Ralei^di — 
yes,  even  of  great  theologians  like  "  the  judicious 
Hooker  ;"  but  after  all  it  had  more  of  the  spirit  ot 
the  renaissance  than  of  the  Reformation.  It  was 
au  age  hostile  to  the  papacy,  but  for  a  while  this 
sentiment  was  hardly  separable  from  hatred  of 
Spain.  It  has  been  said  that  the  Roman  church 
in  England  "committed  suicide."  The  phrase 
must  be  understood  to  mean  that  it  took  a  course 
which  inevitably  led  to  its  destruction.  It  cer- 
tainly encouraged  treason  and  welcomed  the  Ar- 
mada. If  it  had  not  been  for  a  few  Roman  Catho- 
lic noblemen  who  supported  the  queen  in  her  con- 
flict with  Spain,  Romanism  would  probably  have 
been  no  longer  tolerated  in  England. 

The  acceptance  of  the  39  articles  had  been  a 
declaration  of  the  fact  that  the  church  of  England 
was  decidedly  Protestant  ;  but  the  return  of  the 
Marian  exiles  was  the  signal  for  the  beginning  of  a 
conflict  within  the  church.  These  men  brought 
with  them  an  intense  dislike  for  ceremonials  and 
vestments,  and  possibly  a  stronger  and  more  earnest 
faith  than  was  general  in  England,  where  the 
church  was  regarded  by  many  as  "  a  branch  of  the 
civil  service."  The  government  endeavored  to 
compel  them  to  submit  to  the  established  order,  but 


156         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

as  they  refused  to  conform  they  became  non-con- 
formists. Thomas  Cartwright,  a  professor  of  the- 
ology, was  their  most  eminent  man  ;  but  for  some 
time  they  remained  unorganized,  and  to  such 
prelates  as  Parker  and  Jewell  their  protests  did  not 
seem  to  be  of  great  importance.  It  was  not  until 
the  next  reign  that  this  movement  developed  into 
Puritanism,  which  has  sometimes  been  called  "the 
second  Reformation."  To  consider  the  history  of 
the  wonderful  series  of  events  which  it  includes 
would  be  a  fascinating  undertaking  ;  but  it  does  not 
lie  within  the  field  of  our  present  study. 

It  is  in  the  kingdom  north  of  the  Tweed  that,  at 
this  period,  we  behold  the  greatest  changes.  These 
changes  were,  indeed,  political  as  well  as  religious; 
but  those  of  the  former  character  were  chiefly  im- 
portant as  preparing  the  way  for  the  latter. 

Scotland  has  been  so  glorified  by  writers  of 
romance,  that  those  who  derive  their  impressions 
from  Sir  Walter  Scott,  not  to  speak  of  Jane  Porter 
and  Grace  Aguilar,  are  apt  to  suppose  that  it  was 
before  the  Reformation  a  land  of  chivalry  more 
splendid  than  Normandy  or  Provence.  Minute 
examination  would  hardly  confirm  this  impression. 
The  fact  is  that  the  country  was  wild  and  unculti- 
vated, and  it  was  the  last  in  western  Europe  to  be 
touched  by  the  glories  of  the  renaissance.  The 
people  were  divided  into  many  clans,  or  tribes, 
which  were  frequently  at  war  ;  and  amid  the  strug- 


CRANMER  AND  KNOX.  157 

gles  of  the  chiefs  royalty  liad  a  precarious  existence. 
Nearlv  all  the  kings  of  the  house  of  Stuart  died  a 
violent  death,  and  with  each  death  there  came  a 
stru^rele  fur  the  succession.  \\\  their  efforts  to  con- 
trol  the  turbulent  nobles  the  kings  naturally  fol- 
lowed the  example  of  their  ancient  allies,  the  kings 
of  France — making  the  Roman  hierarchy  the  chief 
instrument  lor  the  accomplishment  of  their  politi- 
cal purposes.  They  impoverished  themselves  to 
enrich  the  church  ;  and  the  magnificence  of  the 
ruins  scattered  all  over  northern  Britain  still  testifies 
to  the  splendor  of  the  dwellings  of  its  priests.  In 
this  way  the  interests  of  royalty  and  hierarchy  stood 
and  fell  together.  The  plan  had  been  well  laid  ; 
but  like  marvy  other  plans  "it  went  aglee. "  In 
France  the  nobles  had  been  originally  a  conquering 
race — Frank  not  Celtic — and  the  people  had  hated 
them  for  a  thousand  years.  The  alliance  of  king 
and  priests  was,  therefore,  in  that  country,  certain 
of  popular  support,  and  the  result  could  not  be 
doubtful.  In  Scotland,  on  the  other  hand,  the  re- 
lations of  the  clans  and  their  chiefs  were  intimate 
and  affectionate.  The  humblest  member  of  the 
clan  regarded  himself  as  of  the  same  blood  as  his 
chief,  and  was  ready  to  follow  his  pibroch  to  battle 
and  death.  In  brief,  it  was  in  Scotland  that  the 
feudal  system  had  in  this  respect  attained  its 
highest  development  ;  and  neither  royalty  nor 
hierarchy  was  strong  enough  to  break  its  spirit. 


158         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

That  the  church  of  Scotland  was  before  the  Ref- 
ormation in  a  depressed  condition  will  hardly  be 
denied.  Greek  was  not  taught  anywhere  in  Scot- 
land, and  the  Scriptures  were  practically  unknown. 
At  one  of  the  early  religious  controversies,  it  is 
said,  the  monks  refused  to  listen  to  citations  from 
the  New  Testament.  "'  We  do  not  want  anything 
new,"  they  exclaimed,  "the  Old  Testament  is 
good  enough  for  us  as  it  has  been  for  our  fathers." 

The  news  of  the  German  Reformation  had 
reached  Scotland  at  an  early  day.  In  those  days 
Scotchmen  travelled  all  over  Europe  as  dealers  in 
small  wares,  so  that  in  Germany  every  peddler  was 
called  a  Scot.  These  men  brought  home  the  news 
of  evangelical  liberty,  and  the  message  found  a 
warm  response  iu  the  hearts  of  those  country- 
people  who  still  preserved  the  traditions  of  the 
Culdees — the  ancient  Christians  who  had  been  the 
teachers  of  Scotland  before  the  supremacy  of  Rome. 
As  early  as  1525  the  Scotch  parliament  issued  a 
proclamation  against  the  Lutheran  heresy — forbid- 
ding the  people  to  speak  about  it,  and  permitting 
the  priests  to  mention  its  name  only  when  they 
proposed  to  refute  it.  Persecutions  soon  began, 
and  Patrick  Hamilton,  a  relative  of  the  royal  house, 
was  burned  at  the  stake.  The  blood  of  the  mar- 
tyrs proved  the  seed  of  the  church,  and  with  every 
martyrdom  the  power  of  the  hierarchy  decreased. 
The  grandest,  the  noblest,  of  the  early  martyrs  was 


JOHN    KNOX 


CRAXMF.R  .h\7)  A'XOX.  1 59 

George  Wisliart,  who  was  executed  in  1546.  When 
he  was  on  his  way  to  his  death,  it  is  said,  he  laid 
his  hand  on  the  head  of  a  youne^  man  wlio  desired 
to  accompany  liim,  and  solemnly — almost  prophet- 
ically— committed  to  his  care  the  higliest  interests 
of  the  church  in  Scotland. 

John  Knox,  who  accepted  this  solemn  trust,  is 
one  of  the  most  picturesque  figures  in  the  history 
of  the  Reformation.  He  was  born  in  1505,  in 
Haddington,  not  far  from  Edinburgh.  Tradition 
represents  him  as  a  descendant  of  the  Knoxes  of 
Ranfurly — a  distinguished  family  whose  character- 
istic armorial  device  is  an  eagle.  His  education  at 
Haddington  ^nd  Glasgow  presents  few  points  of 
special  interest.  He  must  have  been  regarded  as  a 
good  scholar,  for  he  subsequently  became  a  tutor  at 
St.  Andrevv^s  ;  but  he  himself  declared  that  his  early 
training  was  lamentably  deficient.  He  studied  law 
and  was  for  some  time  a  notary.  He  received  minor 
orders,  and,  according  to  some  authorities,  was 
hurried  into  the  priesthood  without  due  consider- 
ation ;  but  this  latter  fact  is  not  sufficiently  estab- 
lished. It  appears  certain  that  he  studied  the 
writings  of  Augustine,  and  the  result  was  the  same 
as  in  the  case  of  the  earlier  Reformers.  He  soon 
received  a  call  and  began  to  preach  to  a  congrega- 
tion of  Protestants.  Too  honest  to  hide  his  con- 
victions, too  bold  to  fear  the  condemnation  of  his 
ecclesiastical  superiors,  his  preaching,  as  was  said 


l6o         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

at  a  later  date,  ' '  had  more  force  and  power  than  a 
hundred  trumpets."      Betrayed  into  the    power  of 
his  enemies,  he  was  carried    to  France    and    con- 
demned   to  the  galleys.      According  to  recent  re- 
searches it  appears  that  the  discipline  was  in  his 
case   somewhat   relaxed,  for  he  did  some    literary 
work   during  his   imprisonment ;  but  there  is   no 
reason  to  doubt  that,  like  others  of  his  faith,  he  was 
sometimes  chained   to  an  oar  of  the  government 
vessel  in  which  he  was  confined.     Tyranny  never 
devised   imprisonment  more  oppressive  than  this. 
The   form   of  the  vessels,  it  has  been  said,  differed 
but  little   from   the  type   adopted   by  the  ancient 
Romans  in   their  conflicts  with  the  Carthaginians. 
There  were  two  banks  of  oars,  by  which  the  vessel 
was  propelled,  and  to  every  oar  a  slave  was  chained. 
Between   them  stood  the  taskmaster,  with  a  long 
lash,  which  he  brought  down   on  the  shoulders  of 
the  slave  whose  arm  grew  weary  or  who  paused  to 
speak  a  word.      Ordinarily  there  was  the  silence  of 
the  grave,  but  at  times  nature  could  no  longer  be 
restrained  ;  and,  accompanied  by  the  sound  of  the 
lash — with  quivering  flesh  and  with  blood  stream- 
ing over  the  deck — the  enslaved   Huguenots  sang 
their  favorite  psalm  :   "  Why  do  the  heathen  rage 
and  the  people  imagine  a  vain  thing?" 

The  eighteen  months  which  John  Knox  spent  in 
the  galleys  were  an  im.portant  part  of  his  educa- 
tion.    If  he  became  sterner  than  the  other  Reform- 


CRANMIIR  AM)  kWOX.  i6i 

ers — more  uncoinproiiiisini^  in  his  rejection  of  every 
rag  ol"  papal  splendor — can  we  wonder  at  it  after 
the  training  which  he  had  received  in  the  galleys? 

How  Knox  escaped  from  this  dread fnl  imprison- 
ment is  not  quite  clear.  It  has  been  suggested 
that  he  was  discharged  on  the  personal  request  of 
the  young  king  of  England  ;  but  it  is  likely  enough 
that  after  the  marriage  of  Mary  of  Scotland  to  the 
dauphin  of  France  the  French  court  no  longer 
dreaded  his  influence  and  let  him  go.  Knox  went 
to  England  and  during  the  reign  ot  Edward  labored 
with  voice  and  pen,  holding  at  one  time  the  posi- 
tion of  chaplain  to  the  king.  Dr.  Lorimer  main- 
tains that  he  was  the  first  to  substitute  the  use  of 
common  bread  for  "wafer-breads"  in  the  Lord's 
Supper — a  practice  which  was  afterwards  author- 
ized by  the  king.  He  was  consulted  in  the  prepa- 
ration of  the  formularies  of  the  church  of  England  ; 
and  a  book  of  forty-five  articles  of  religion,  from 
which  the  thirty-nine  articles  were  afterward  de- 
rived, was  submitted  to  him  for  his  opinion.  The 
king  desired  to  make  him  bishop  of  Rochester  ; 
but  Knox  himself  states  that  he  was  unwilling  to 
accept  even  the  modified  formularies  of  the  Eng- 
lish church,  regarding  them  as  leading  to  Roman- 
ism, though  he  was  "  favorable  to  an  office  similar 
to  the  bishop's." 

When  Mary  became  queen  Knox  went  to  the 
continent,  and   in    1554   met   for  the  first  time,  at 


1 62         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

Geneva,  John  Calvin,  whom  he  made  in  all  things 
his  spiritual  guide.  "In  other  places,"  he  wrote, 
"I  confess  that  Christ  is  truly  preached,  but  no- 
where else  have  I  found  religion  and  manners  so 
truly  reformed."  Though  nearly  fifty  years  old 
Knox  became  a  scholar  in  Calvin's  school,  and 
with  great  humility  studied  Greek  in  company  with 
boys  who  were  not  yet  out  of  their  teens.  In  the 
mean  time  he  wrote  about  a  dozen  books,  or  pamph- 
lets, and  preached  for  a  little  congregation  of  Eng- 
lish refugees  which  with  difficulty  provided  him 
with  the  means  of  subsistence. 

It  is  plain  enough  that  the  fiery  disposition  of  Knox 
gave  the  Swiss  reformers  some  trouble.  Bullinger 
reported  to  Calvin  his  cautious  replies  on  such 
questions  as  "whether  a  female  can  rule  a  kingdom 
by  divine  right,  and  transfer  the  right  to  her  hus- 
band," and  "to  which  party  must  godly  persons 
attach  themselves  in  a  case  of  a  religious  nobility 
resisting  an  idolatrous  sovereign."  A  book  which 
Knox  wrote  at  this  time,  but  which  had  better  have 
remained  unwritten,  was  entitled  "The  First  Blast 
of  the  Trumpet  Against  the  Monstrous  Regiment 
of  Women."  The  book  was  anonymous,  but  the 
identity  of  the  author  could  not  be  concealed  ;  and 
it  was  for  this  publication  that  Queen  Elizabeth 
forbade  him  to  set  foot  on  English  soil.  Knox 
afterwards  wrote:  "My  First  Blast  hath  blown 
from  me  all  my  friends  in  England." 


CRANMIIR  AM)  k'NOX.  163 

Several  times  Kiiox  ])aid  sliort  visits  to  vScotland, 
but  each  time  returned  to  Geneva,  savin;;,  tliat  tlic 
time  was  not  yet  come.  In  1559,  however,  lie  ex- 
claimed :  '*  Now  Scotland  is  ripe  !"  Returning  to 
Scotland  he  became  the  religious  leader  of  the 
Protestants,  and  in  one  year  their  cause  was  practi- 
cally gained.  In  1560  Parliament  declared  that 
the  papal  system  was  abrogated  and  in  the  same 
year  formally  adopted  the  Scotch  confession.  In 
no  other  country  was  the  reformation  so  imme- 
diately successful,  and,  indeed,  in  some  districts  it 
partook  largely  of  the  nature  of  a  popular  tumult. 

The  conflicts  of  Knox  with  Mary  Queen  oi  Scots, 
have  been  made  the  subject  of  much  discussion, 
and  there  are  circumstances  connected  with  them 
which  history  has  left  obscure.  When  that  unfor- 
tunate queen  returned  to  Scotland  in  1561,  it  must 
be  remembered,  the  country  was  already  formally 
Protestant,  so  that  in  opposing  her  efforts  to  re- 
establish the  mass  Knox  was  standing-  on  firm 
ground.  He  spoke  to  the  queen  like  a  Hebrew 
prophet  ;  and  we  are  told  that  ''  she  wept  many  salt 
tears;"  but  they  were  probably  tears  of  anger 
rather  than  of  genuine  contrition. 

Knox  was  the  object  of  Mary's  special  aversion, 
and  when  she  found  that  blandishments  and  threat- 
enings  were  alike  unavailing,  she  sought  to  secure 
his  condemnation  :or  treason,  x\ll  her  efforts  were 
vain  ;  a  single  sermon  by  Knox  had  more  power 


1 64         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

than  many  royal  proclamations.  By  his  tremen- 
dous earnestness  he  united  a  turbulent  nobility  and 
an  uneducated  people,  filling  all  classes  with  inex- 
tinguishable hatred  for  everything  that  reminded 
them  of  Rome. 

Mary  Stuart  was  more  closely  allied  to  France 
than  to  Scotland.  Her  mother  had  been  a  daugh- 
ter of  the  great  house  of  Guise,  and  from  that  fam- 
ily she  may  be  supposed  to  have  derived  her  per- 
sonal beauty  as  well  as  her  religious  fanaticism.  At 
the  court  of  her  first  husband,  Francis  II.,  she  had 
practiced  the  superficial  accomplishments  which 
added  so  greatly  to  her  fascinations  ;  but  she  had 
also  breathed  an  air  that  was  reeking  with  assassi- 
nation. That  she  could  be  devout  after  the  fashion 
which  she  had  been  taught  will  hardly  be  ques- 
tioned by  those  who  have  studied  her  profound  and 
poetical  religious  utterances  ;  but  she  failed  to  ap- 
preciate the  fact  that  even  royal  personages  must  be 
obedient  to  the  moral  law. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  enter  minutely  into  the  his- 
tory of  Mary's  unfortunate  reign.  The  question  of 
her  guilt  or  innocence  of  the  crimes  charged 
against  her  is  still  debated  ;  and  with  regard  to  her 
complicity  in  the  murder  of  her  second  husband, 
Henry  Darnley,  we  can  hardly  claim  to  know  more 
than  the  great  historian  Ranke,  who  says  that  after 
twenty  years'  study  of  the  subject  he  still  remains 
undecided.      That  she  was  greatly  sinned  against 


CRANiMIlR  AM)  k'XOX.  1 65 

cannot  be  doubted  ;  no  crowned  liead  had  ever  been 
compelled  to  endure  so  many  indignities.  The 
murder  of  Rizzio  in  her  presence  may  have  seemed 
a  crime  that  cried  for  veni^eance.  We  may  hope 
that  she  was  not  accessory  to  the  murder  of  Darn- 
ley  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  immediately  afterwards 
she  showed  great  favor  to  James  Hepburn,  earl  of 
Bothwell,  who  was  generally  regarded  as  the  mur- 
derer, and  that  within  three  months  she  married 
him.  It  is  claimed  that  she  did  this  under  com- 
pulsion ;  but  the  people  of  Scotland  were  disgusted, 
as  well  they  might  be,  and  the  natural  result  was 
civil  war. 

Her  party  having  been  defeated  at  Langside, 
May  13,  1568,  Queen  Mary  very  foolishly  fled  to 
England,  to  place  herself  under  the  protection  of 
Elizabeth.  The  latter  regarded  her  as  her  chief 
rival,  and  is  said  to  have  expressed  her  purpose  in 
the  stanza : 

"The  daughter  of  debate. 

Who  discord  still  doth  sow. 
Shall  reap  no  gain  where  former  rule 

Hath  taught  still  peace  to  grow." 

For  more  than  eighteen  years  Mary  was  im- 
prisoned, and  finally  she  was  condemned  and  ex- 
ecuted. However  guilty  Mary  may  have  been  it  is 
certain  that  no  English  court  had  authority  to  try 
and  condemn  the  queen  of  Scotland. 


1 66         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

After  the  flight  of  the  queen  there  was  in  Scot- 
land a  period  of  confusion  and  violence.  Against 
the  protest  of  Knox  and  his  coadjutors  the  nobles 
appropriated  the  property  of  the  church,  as  they 
had  done  in  England  ;  they  secured  the  appoint- 
ment of  so-called  "  Tulchan  bishops"  who  turned 
over  to  their  patrons  the  revenues  of  their  sees. 
The  later  years  of  the  great  Reformer  were  there- 
fore clouded  with  sorrow  ;  but  after  all  he  suc- 
ceeded in  moulding  the  church  according  to  the 
ideal  of  Geneva,  so  that  it  became  more  completely 
than  any  other  national  church  the  church  of  Cal- 
vin. Stern  and  strict  as  the  Scotch  ideal  may  ap- 
pear to  foreigners  there  can  be  no  question  as  to  the 
glorious  examples  of  earnest  piety  which  it  has  pro- 
duced. 

Though  the  Protestant  churches  of  England  and 
Scotland  differed  in  government  and  cultus  from 
the  beginning  it  was  not  until  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury that  they  were  arrayed  against  each  other  in 
violent  conflict.  The  frequent  attempts  of  English 
monarchs  after  the  union  of  the  kingdoms  to  ex- 
tend English  forms  of  government  and  service  to 
the  Scotch  churches  produced  opposition  which 
intensified  peculiarities  that  had  previously  received 
comparatively  little  attention.  In  the  Reformed 
churches  of  the  continent  local  differences  in  organ- 
ization are  but  lightly  regarded  ;  and  men  of  great 
intelligence  find  it  difiicult  to  appreciate  the  import- 


CRANMFJy!  A\/)  kWOX.  167 

ance  which  is  in  (ireal  Piritaiii  attached  to  sucli 
matters.  It  should,  however,  be  remembered  tliat 
it  was  not  until  sixty-five  years  after  the  death  of 
Knox  that  the  dean  of  Edinburgh  attempted  to 
read  the  English  liturgy  at  St.  Giles,  and  that 
Jenny  Geddes  expressed  her  indignation  by  flinging 
her  camp-stool  at  his  head. 

The  last  important  public  utterance  of  John 
Knox  was  his  sermon  on  receiving  the  news  of  the 
massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew.  Being  assisted  to 
reach  the  pulpit  he  summoned  his  remaining 
strength  to  thunder  out  the  vengeance  of  heaven 
against  that  "cruel  murderer  and  false  traitor  the 
king  of  France,"  at  the  same  time  "desiring  the 
French  ambassador  to  tell  his  master  that  sentence 
was  pronounced  against  him  in  Scotland  ;  that  di- 
vine vengeance  would  never  depart  from  him  nor 
from  his  house,  if  repentance  did  not  ensue,  but 
that  his  name  would  remain  an  execration  to  all 
succeeding  generations."  Two  months  later,  on 
the  27th  of  November,  1572,  John  Knox  died.  At 
his  open  grave  the  earl  of  Morton  exclaimed  : 
"  Here  lieth  a  man  who  in  his  life  never  feared  the 
face  of  man  ;  who  hath  often  been  threatened  with 
poison  and  dagger,  but  hath  ended  his  course  with 
peace  and  honor. "  He  had  been,  indeed,  "a  mighty 
one  in  Israel." 

It  is  not  easy  to  form  an  adequate  conception 
of  the  character  of  such  a  man  as  Knox.      ' '  He 


1 68         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

was  another  Calvin,"  says  a  recent  German 
biographer,  'Mess  scholarly  and  profound  than  his 
model,  but  personally  bolder  and  more  eloquent." 
Though  his  religious  antagonists  have  represented 
him  as  fierce  and  contentious,  it  has  been  remarked 
that  he  never  came  into  violent  conflict  with  any 
minister  of  the  Reformed  church  of  Scotland. 
During  the  conflicts  under  the  later  Stuarts  his 
memory  was  attacked  on  grounds  which  now  ap- 
pear frivolous,  not  to  say  contemptible.  It  was  said 
that  he  was  a  fanatic  ;  but  how  could  that  trifling 
and  degenerate  age  pass  judgment  on  a  strong  man 
who  had  consecrated  all  his  powers  to  the  pursuit 
of  a  grand  ideal  ?  It  was  declared  that  he  was  a 
politician,  as  if  in  those  days  any  leader  on  either 
side  had  not  been  a  politician.  The  imputation 
that  he  was  rude  in  appearance  and  manner  is  per- 
haps best  answered  by  McCrie  when  he  inquires  in 
Scriptural  language  :  "  What  went  ye  out  for  to  see  ? 
A  man  clothed  in  soft  raiment  ?  Behold,  they  that 
wear  soft  raiment  are  in  kings'  houses."  That 
Knox  was  lacking  in  some  of  the  amenities  of  life 
may  be  true  enough  ;  but  it  is  also  true  that  to 
have  given  the  Scotch  Reformation  a  leader  who 
was  mild  and  conciliatory  would  have  been  to  send 
a  child  to  fight  a  giant. 

Cranmer  and  Knox  !  Could  any  names  be  men- 
tioned that  would  represent  men  more  different  in 
temperament  and  natural  inclination  ?     The  one  a 


CRANMER  AND  KAOX.  169 

courtier,  the  other  a  po})nlar  cliaiii])ioii  ;  yet  each 
in  his  own  way  peforniin.L;  his  appointed  work. 
Between  these  limits  every  variety  of  thought  and 
action  might  find  a  place.  Can  there  be  anywhere 
a  better  illustration  of  the  fact  that  the  spirit  of  the 
great  Reformation  was  not  local  or  limited,  but  as 
broad  as  humanity  itself? 

Above  all,  these  decided  differences  reveal  the 
fundamental  truths  that  the  instruments  of  Provi- 
dence are  not  chosen  on  grounds  that  are  evident  to 
human  understanding,  and  that  the  strength  of  God 
is  made  perfect  in  the  weakness  of  men. 


VI. 
THE  THREEFOLD  CORD. 

FREDERICK   III.    OF    THE   PALATINATE, 
OLEVIANUS,    AND    URSINUS. 

A  THREEFOLD  cord  is  not  quickly  broken." 
At  Heidelberg  in  the  Palatinate  a  cord  was 
twined  which  though  often  severely  tested 
has  retained  its  strength.  One  of  the  strands  was 
taken  from  Zurich  and  another  from  Geneva  ;  but 
the  third  was  thoroughly  German,  and  from  the 
latter  the  whole  received  its  distinctive  character. 
All  this  becomes  evident  in  the  development  of  the 
Reformed  churches  of  Germany  and  Holland,  and 
no  less  in  the  fortunes  of  their  chief  confession  of 
faith,  the  Heidelberg  Catechism. 

The  Palatinate  of  the  Rhine  was  in  the  days  of 
the  Reformation  the  richest  province  in  Germany, 
and  its  elector  was  a  king  in  all  but  name.  His 
capital  was  Heidelberg,  whose  university  was  the 
chief  glory  of  all  that  region.  By  a  political 
arrangement  the  elector  also  ruled  the  Upper  Pala- 
tinate— now  a  Bavarian  province — but  it  is  with 
the  Lower  Palatinate  or  "  Rheinpfalz"  that  we  are 
at  present  chiefly  concerned.  Though  its  name 
has  disappeared  from  the  map  of  Europe,  the  Pala- 
tinate is  still  popularly  recognized  as  the  heart  of 
Germany  ;  and  it  is  easy  to  see  that  on  account  of 
its  geographical  position,  if  for  no  other  reason,  it 


FREDERICK 


FREDERICK  I[r.,OI-I':\'IANUS,   URSINVS.     171 

uiust  necessarily  have  become  the  theater  of  impor- 
tant events  in  the  ])eriod  of  the  Reformation. 

The  electors  of  the  Palatinate  were  slower  than 
their  neighbors  in  accepting  the  doctrine.^  of  the 
Reformation.  At  first  they  had  been  nnder  Aus- 
trian influence  ;  and  at  a  later  period  they  were 
terrified  by  the  Peasant  War.  It  was,  however,  in 
Heidelberg  that  Luther  had  gained  one  of  his 
earliest  successes  ;  for  at  a  disputation  held  in  that 
city  in  151S  he  had  secured  the  adherence  of  Bucer, 
Brenz,  and  Schnepfius. 

In  1520  the  German  knights  declared  in  favor  of 
Luther  ;  and  Sickingen's  castle  of  Ebernburg,  near 
Worms,  became  a  refuge  for  the  oppressed.  As 
early  as  1522  Sickingen's  chaplain,  Oecolampadius, 
not  only  preached  in  German,  which  was  then  very 
unusual,  but  also  read  in  the  vernacular  the  Scrip- 
ture passages  which  appeared  in  the  liturgy. 
"This,"  says  Goebel,  ''was  then  as  surprising  as 
it  would  be  if  a  German  pastor  should  now  under- 
take to  read  them  in  Plattdeutsch:'  After  the 
death  of  Sickingen,  in  1523,  there  was  a  reaction, 
and  for  some  years  the  Palatinate  remained  attached 
to  Rome. 

In  the  mean  time  neighboring  districts  had  made 
rapid  progress.  Philip  of  Hesse  had  been  an  early 
friend  of  Luther,  and  mainly  through  the  influ- 
ence of  its  ruler  his  principality  soon  became  deci- 
dedly Protestant.      It  will  be  remembered  that  it 


172         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

was  by  his  negotiation   that  Luther  and   Zwingli 
were  brought   together  at    Marburg,  and  that  he 
subsequently  became  an  intimate  friend  of  Zwingli. 
The   man   whom    Philip   authorized   to  reorganize 
the    Hessian    churches    on  a  Protestant  basis   was 
Francis  Lambert,  of  Avignon.     Lambert  had  been 
a  celebrated  preacher  in  the  Roman  Catholic  church 
of  the  South  of  France,  but  came  into  communi- 
cation with  the  Waldenses  and  was  influenced  by 
them.      Having  ventured   to  read  the  writings  of 
Luther  he  was  compelled  to  flee,  and  after  many 
perils  found  a  refuge  in  Zurich.      Subsequently  he 
visited    Luther   at    Wittenberg    and    accepted   the 
Lutheran  faith.      He  was  not  a  controversialist,  but 
occupied  a  position  as  nearly  as  possible  half-way 
between  the  two  reformers.      He  proposed  to  give 
the  churches  a  liberal  constitution,  like  that  which 
prevailed   in     Switzerland;    but    this    the    secular 
authorities  would  not  allow.     The  landgrave  Philip, 
however,    sustained   Lambert,    and  did  all  in    his 
power  to  discourage  controversy  on  the  sacramental 
question.     Even  on  his  deathbed  he  exacted  a  pro- 
mise from  his  sons  to  remain  faithful  to  the  articles 
of  agreement  between  the  Lutherans  and  Reformed 
which   Bucer  and   Melancthon  had  prepared.      In 
this  way  the  churches  of  Hesse  and  several  adjacent 
districts  assumed  an  irenic  character  which  was  as 
far  as  possible  removed  from  the  fierce  dogmatism 
of  Saxony.     They  held,  in  fact,  to  the  mild  Luth- 


FRi:nERicK  in.,  oli-'a-ianus,  urs/nus.   173 

emnism  wliicli  l^ccanic  j^reinjnilly  prevalent  in 
southern  Germany,  and  which  at  a  later  date  was 
stigmatized  by  the  zealots  as  "  Philipism,"  because 
Philip  Melancthon  was  re.i^arded  as  its  chief  expo- 
nent and  defender. 

]\Ie!ancthon  is  termed  by  Seisen,  ''the  true  re- 
former of  the  Palatinate."  He  was  a  native  of 
that  country,  and  was  naturally  there  regarded  with 
the  profoundest  reverence.  When  the  reformation 
of  the  church  was  finally  undertaken  his  advice  w\as 
solicited  at  every  step,  and  the  men  who  were 
actively  engaged  in  the  work  were  proud  to  be 
known  as  his  disciples.  The  position  which  he 
personally  occupied  is  perhaps  not  generally  under- 
stood ;  but  it  is  hardly  just  to  denounce  him  as 
weak  or  inconsistent.  The  fact  is  that  he  was  from 
the  beginning  what  w^ould  now  be  called  ''  a  union 
man  ;"  holding  consistently  to  what  he  believed  to 
be  the  truth,  but  always  treating  his  opponents 
with  courtesy  and  willing  to  do  all  in  his  power  to 
promote  the  reunion  of  the  church.  For  many 
years  he  believed  that  reconciliation  with  Rome 
was  not  impossible  ;  and  he  himself  declared  that 
when  he  wrote  the  Augsburg  Confession,  in  1530, 
he  had  this  end  in  view.  In  the  tenth  article, 
treating  of  the  Lord's  Supper  which  was  then  the 
chief  object  of  discussion,  he  accordingly  presented 
the  doctrine  of  Luther  in  its  fullest  development, 
expressly  condemning  those  who  held  a  contrary 


174         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

Opinion.      He  evidently  believed  that  his  definition 
of    the   doctrine   would   find   acceptance   with   the 
Roman   Catholics,    and   that   the   parties  would  in 
this  way  be  drawn  more  closely   together.       The 
Reformed,  against  whom  the  condemnatory  clause 
was  directed,   were  at  that  time  few  in  number  ; 
and  though  four  Reformed  cities  in  the  south  of 
Germany  ventured  to  present  to  the  diet  a  separate 
confession  of  their  doctrine,  it  was  entirely  ignored. 
Melancthon    was    greatly  disappointed   that  the 
Augsburg    Confession  did    not  lead    to   the  result 
which  he  so  greatly  desired.      For  four  years  he  re- 
mained hoping  against  hope  ;  but  then  reluctantly 
acknowledged  that  reunion  with  Rome  was  impos- 
sible.     He  now  became  especially  anxious  to  pre- 
serve the  unity  of  Protestantism,   and  held  many 
conferences  with  the  leaders  of  the  Reformed  move- 
ment.     In    1536,  in    conjunction    with    Bucer,  he 
drew   up  the  articles  of  the   so-called   Wittenberg 
Union  ;  and  in  1540  changed  the  loth  article  of  the 
Augsburg  Confession,  by  omitting  the  condemna- 
tory clause  and  otherwise  altering  the  language,  so 
that  it  might  no  longer  be  objectionable  to  the  Re- 
formed church.     The  latter  act  was  by  the  zealots 
of  his  own  church  regarded  as  unpardonable  treason, 
and  after  the  death  of  Luther  the  feeling  against 
him  became  intense.      "  Philipism"  was  declared  to 
be  as  bad  as  Calvinism.      Minor  points  of  difference 
between  Luther  and  Melancthon  were  sought  out 


FREnilRICk'  III.,  OLF.VIANUS,   URSINUS.     1 75 

and  made  the  occasion  of  1)1  tier  ccjntroversies. 
Melancthon's  friends  were  deposed  and  banished 
for  trivial  reasons,  and  the  extremists  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  say  that  they  wonld  not  rest  nntil  tliey  had 
driven  Melancthon  ont  of  Germany.  In  this  pur- 
pose they  were  foiled,  for  he  had  powerful  friends 
and  laro^e  sections  of  the  church  remained  closely 
attached  to  him  ;  but  it  is  not  surprising  that  he 
prayed  to  be  delivered  from  "  the  wrath  of  the  theo- 
logians," and  that,  a  short  time  before  his  death  he 
even  seriously  proposed  to  go  to  Palestine,  to  spend 
his  remaining  days  in  the  cell  at  Bethlehem  once 
occupied  by  St.  Jerome. 

It  was  in  the  closing  years  of  Melancthon' s  life 
that  the  Palatinate  accepted  the  Reformation.  In 
1546  the  aged  elector  Frederick  II.,  feeling  con- 
vinced that  this  great  popular  movement  w^as  no 
longer  to  be  resisted,  introduced  the  ecclesiastical 
order  which  ]\Ielancthon  had  prepared  for  Mecklen- 
burg. His  successor,  Otho  Henry  (''  Ottheinrich") 
went  a  step  further  and  declared  his  adherence  to 
the  Augsburg  Confession  ' '  as  explained  by  Melanc- 
thon." He  was  an  enlightened  prince  and  a  mu- 
nificent patron  of  the  University  of  Heidelberg. 
On  his  death  without  children,  in  1559,  the  electo- 
ral dignity  passed  to  his  cousin,  Frederick  III., 
popularly  surnamed  the  Pious. 

The  biography  of  this  excellent  prince  is  more 
than  ordinarily  interesting.      He  was  born  at  Sim- 


176         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

iiiern  on  the  14th  of  February,  151 5.  His  father, 
John  11. ,  who  was  a  man  of  culture,  ruled  over  the 
small  possessions  of  the  house  of  Simmern.  He 
was  a  Roman  Catholic,  though  it  is  said  that  on  his 
death-bed  he  accepted  the  Protestant  faith.  The 
son  was  carefully  trained  in  all  the  accomplish- 
ments which  were  deemed  suitable  to  his  position. 
In  his  early  youth  he  served  at  the  courts  of  the 
cardinal  of  Lorraine  and  the  bishop  of  Liege,  and 
like  other  earnest  men  of  his  day,  was  greatly  dis- 
gusted by  the  conduct  of  ecclesiastics  in  high 
station.  No  one  seem.s  to  know  wath  certainty 
under  what  circumstances  he  became  a  Protestant, 
but  it  has  been  supposed  that  he  was  converted  by 
John  A'Lasco.*  His  wife — a  daughter  of  Mar- 
grave Casimir  of  Brandenburo^ — had  been  educated 
in  the  Lutheran  faith,  and  probably  exerted  some 
influence  in  this  direction.  It  is  certain  that  as 
early  as  1546  he  became  a  decided  Protestant. 

Frederick's  early  career  did  not  differ  greatly 
from  that  of  others  of  his  rank  and  station.  He 
was  ambitious  of  military  distinction,  and  when 
only  eighteen  years   of  age  led  a  company  of  sol- 

*  John  A'Lasco  (or  De  Lasky)  was  born  at  Warsaw,  Poland,  in  1499,  and 
died  January  13,  1560.  He  belonged  to  a  distinguished  family,  and  was 
himself  a  bishop  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  Having  been  converted 
to  Protestantism— mainly  through  the  influence  of  Zwingli— he  resigned  his 
bishopric  and  devoted  his  life  to  preaching  the  Gospel.  From  1550  to  1553 
he  was  superintendent  of  the  churches  of  the  Refugees  in  London,  but  fled 
on  the  accession  of  Mary,  and  endured  many  privations.  He  is  regarded 
as  the  chief  organizer  of  the  Reformed  church  in  the  northern  countries  of 
Europe. 


FREDERICK  III.,  OIJA  L\.\  (  .s,    /  A'.s/A  /  .S.     177 

diers  a<;ainst  the  Turks.  On  his  return  he  received 
the  honor  of  knij^hthood  from  the  emperor.  For 
two  years  lie  was  count  of  Sinimeros,  and  durin,L; 
this  period  is  said  to  have  l^een  ver}-  poor.  His 
nature  was  generous  and  he  was  especially  lil^eral 
to  those  wdio  suffered  persecutions;  but  his  revenue 
was  small,  and  at  times  his  family  was  actually  in 
want  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  It  was  at  this  time 
that  his  religious  disposition  became  especially 
apparent,  and  he  often  said  :  "I  know  my  Lord 
will  never  give  me  up."  Relief  came  when,  in 
1556,  the  elector  Otho  Henry  recognized  him  as 
his  prospective  heir  and  appointed  him  his  repre- 
sentative in  the  Upper  Palatinate. 

When  Frederick  became  elector  he  found  the 
Palatinate  greatly  disturbed  by  controversy.  Two 
ereat  movements  of  reli^jious  life  had  come  from 
opposite  directions  and  had  met  at  the  Rhine.  The 
Zurich  consensus  of  1549  had  united  the  Zwinglian 
and  Calvinistic  parties  ;  the  Reformed  church 
which  resulted  from  this  union  had  now  become  a 
powerful  body,  and  the  English  and  Dutch  refugees 
became  its  advanced  guard  in  Germany.  To  the 
enthusiasts  for  pure  Lutheran  doctrine  it  appeared 
a  real  danger  to  the  fatherland,  and  every  means 
was  taken  to  resist  its  gathering  strength.  Joachim 
Westphal,  Lutheran  pastor  at  Hamburg,  sounded  a 
trumpet  for  the  onslaught,  and  he  was  powerfully 
seconded  by  Heshusius,  Flacius  and  others.      The 


178         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

conflict  was  in  fact  a  revival  of  tlie  old  sacramental 
controversy,  but  it  became  even  more  violent  than 
it  had  been  in  the  days  of  Luther. 

Frederick  III.  had  just  entered  upon  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Palatinate  when  he  found  himself  in 
the  midst  of  the  storm.  His  predecessor  had  ap- 
pointed to  the  oflSce  of  general  superintendent 
Tileman  Heshusius,  who  was  a  violent  controver- 
sialist. In  denouncing  the  Calvinists  he  boldly 
accused  them  of  being  at  heart  Mohammedans,  who 
were  merely  waiting  for  a  Turkish  victory  to  cast 
off  their  disguise  and  enlist  under  the  banner  of  the 
prophet. 

Such  accusations  naturally  did  not  remain  un- 
answered. Klebitz,  the  most  eloquent  preacher  in 
Heidelberg:,  was  an  extreme  Calvinist  who  seems  to 
have  rejoiced  to  engage  in  a  controversy  with  the 
more  celebrated  Heshusius.  He  was  as  violent  and 
abusive  as  his  antagonist,  and  between  them  they 
soon  had  all  Heidelberg  in  a  blaze.  The  elector 
Frederick  was  greatly  troubled,  for  in  those  days 
theological  controversies  were  as  violent,  and  often 
as  dangerous  to  the  state,  as  the  fiercest  political 
conflicts  of  more  modern  times.  At  first  he  issued 
a  proclamation  in  which  he  appealed  to  the  theolo- 
gians to  abstain  from  controversy  and  to  devote 
their  time  to  the  spiritual  edification  of  the  people. 
As  he  had  said  on  a  previous  occasion,  he  could 
*'see  no  reason  why  Christians  who  agree  in  essen- 


FREDI'.RICK  Iff  ,  ()/.  /■:  I  7.1  Xf  'S,    !  'RSINl  S.     T  79 

tials  should  eiii^a^e  in  bitter  controversy  concern- 
inc;i^  minor  matters,  thus  placing  a  sword  in  the 
hands  of  their  enemies  and  even  in  those  of  the 
devil  himself." 

As  might  have  been  expected,  the  elector's  pro- 
clamation remained  unheeded.  In  fact,  the  only 
evident  result  was  to  turn  both  contestants  against 
their  ruler,  whom  they  ventured  to  denounce  for 
interfering  in  matters  which  did  not  concern  him. 
As  a  last  resort  the  elector,  in  accordance  with  the 
advice  of  Melancthon,  banished  both  Heshusius 
and  Klebitz  from  the  Palatinate. 

It  was  hoped  that  this  would  be  the  conclusion 
of  the  conflict,  but  it  proved  to  be  no  more  than  a 
beginning.  It  became  evident  that  the  mediating 
position  of  Melancthon  could  no  longer  be  main- 
tained, and  in  1559  the  elector  publicly  declared 
his  adherence  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Reformed 
church.  It  was  a  bold  step  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  of  the  genuineness  of  his  convictions.  He 
had  earnestly  studied  the  questions  at  issue,  and 
when  he  had  reached  a  conclusion  he  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  accept  the  consequences  which  it  involved. 

At  first  sight  it  might  appear  as  if  the  change 
had  not  been  very  important.  A  German  writer 
says  :  "He  (Frederick)  had  simply  crossed  the  al- 
most imperceptible  line  which  separated  Melanc- 
thonianism  from  the  mildest  form  of  Calvinism." 
His  cotemporaries,  however,  were  not  disposed  to 


l8o         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

take  this  view  of  his  transition.  The  princes  de- 
clared the  act  an  infringnient  of  the  terms  of  the 
Peace  of  Augsburg  ;  the  theologians  of  the  stricter 
Lutheran  type  denounced  it  as  treason  to  evangeli- 
cal truth.  Soon  all  Germany  was  in  a  blaze,  and 
the  pious  elector  appeared  to  stand  alone  in  the 
midst  of  the  fire. 

At  this  period  the  attitude  of  the  prince  was  pos- 
itively heroic.  Even  his  family  disagreed  with 
him  ;  and  his  wife,  who  subsequently  became  his 
faithful  coadjutor  in  the  work  of  reformation,  ap- 
pealed to  the  rulers  of  neighboring  provinces  to 
exert  their  influence  in  restraining  her  husband 
from  taking  what  she  supposed  to  be  a  fatal  step. 
The  people  generally  believed  that  Frederick  would 
be  deprived  of  his  electorate  and  might  possibly  be 
put  to  death.  On  one  occasion  several  princes  met 
at  Stuttgart  for  the  purpose  of  formulating  charges 
against  him ;  but  for  some  unknown  reason  they 
adjourned  without  taking  positive  action. 

In  the  face  of  all  this  opposition  the  elector  re- 
mained calm  and  serene.  At  all  times  ready  to 
suffer  for  what  he  believed  to  be  the  truth,  his  free 
and  joyous  nature  enabled  him  to  triumph  over  dif- 
ficulties which  might  to  others  have  appeared  in- 
surmountable. In  1560  he  removed  from  the 
churches  the  furniture  which  had  remained  in  them 
since  Roman  Catholic  days,  and  directed  the  ser- 
vices to  be  conducted  after  the  manner  of  the  Re- 


FREPI'IAICK  IlI.,i)Li:VrANlIS,   f^RS/Nl'S.     t8i 

formed  cluircli.  At  the  same  time  lie  professed  liis 
attachment  to  the  Augsburg  Confession  (of  1540), 
declarino^  that  he  had  not  changed  his  convictions, 
but  had  merely  advanced  to  the  perception  of  higher 
truth. 

That  the  elector's  methods  were  stern  is  freely 
conceded.  It  must  be  remembered  that,  in  com- 
mon with  most  of  the  princes  of  his  day,  he  be- 
lieved himself  to  be  personally  responsible  for  the 
faith  of  his  subjects  ;  and  he  accordingly  did  not 
hesitate  to  remove  from  their  positions  professors 
and  pastors  who  refused  to  follow  him.  In  this  po- 
sition he  was  strengthened  by  his  favorite  physi- 
cian, Thomas  Erastus,  an  able  writer,  after  whom 
the  whole  theory  of  the  control  of  the  church  by 
the  state  has  been  called  '' Erastianism."  The 
only  people,  however,  who  were  severely  punished 
in  accordance  with  the  civil  law  were  the  Arians, 
who  had  become  numerous  in  Heidelberg.  Con- 
cerning one  of  these,  named  Neuser,  it  is  related 
that  he  was  at  first  a  Lutheran,  then  became  Re- 
formed, then  declared  himself  an  Arian  and  denied 
the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  after  his  expulsion  from 
Heidelberg,  fled  to  Constantinople,  where  he  joined 
the  Mohammedans  and  finally  died  an  atheist. 

The  preparation  of  a  confession  of  faith  had  now 
become  a  necessity  ;  and  it  was  fortunate  for  the 
Reformed  church  of  Germany  that  there  were  at 
hand  two  men  to  whom  the  work  could  safely  be 


1 82         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

committed.  These  men  were  Olevianus  and  Ursi- 
nus,  one  of  whom  was  but  twenty-six  and  the 
other  twenty-eight  years  of  age.  The  elector 
manifested  great  powers  of  discernment  in  select- 
ing them  for  the  work  of  preparing  a  catechism 
that  would  not  only  faithfully  represent  the  faith 
of  the  Reformed  church,  but  might  serve  as  a 
means  of  conveying  its  precious  truths  to  subse- 
quent generations.  Together  they  produced  a 
work  which  has  ever  since  been  regarded  as  the 
crown  and  glory  of  the  Reformed  church. 

Caspar  Olevianus  (1535-1587)  was  a  native  of 
the  ancient  city  of  Treves.  The  famil}^  name,  which 
was  properly  Von  der  Olewig,  was  derived  from  a 
suburb  of  the  city  in  which  the  family  resided. 
There  were  two  sons,  one  of  whom  studied  medi- 
cine and  the  other  law.  The  latter,  after  passing 
through  the  schools  of  his  native  country,  was  sent 
to  France  and  successively  studied  at  Paris  and 
Bourges.  It  is  remarkable  that  his  career  closely 
resembled  that  of  John  Calvin,  whom  he  greatly  ad- 
mired. He  studied  law  but  devoted  much  time  to 
reading  the  Scriptures,  and  secretly  connected  him- 
self with  a  Protestant  congregation,  though  with- 
out immediately  and  completely  consecrating  his 
heart  and  life  to  the  cause  of  truth.  The  decisive 
event  of  his  life,  as  he  always  declared,  occurred 
when  he  almost  lost  his  life  in  attempting  to  save 
a  son  of  the  elector  of  the  Palatinate  who  was  acci- 


FRl'ini'lRICK  III ,  OLI-: \  'IAS ( :S,   I  k\S/Nf'S     1 83 

dciitalh'  drowned  in  tlic  Oron  river.  In  the  moment 
of  the  greatest  danger  he  vowed  tliat  if  Ood  should 
save  his  life  he  would  consecrate  it  entirely  to  the 
conversion  of  his  native  land.  In  this  vow  lie  was 
afterwards  confirmed  by  the  admonitions  of  the 
venerable  Farel,  at  Ivausanne.  After  receiving  the 
degree  of  doctor  of  laws  he  visited  Geneva  and 
Zurich  and  then  returned  to  his  native  city.  Here 
he  taught  Latin,  but  at  the  same  time  used  every 
opportunity  to  preach  the  Gospel  ;  and  for  tlie  lat- 
ter reason  was  arrested  and  cast  into  prison.  Re- 
leased through  the  potent  intercession  of  the  elector 
Frederick,  he  went  to  Heidelberg,  where  he  was  at 
first  professor  of  theology  and  subsequently  ]:)astor 
of  the  principal  church  of  the  city.  Though  the 
elector  generally  took  his  own  way,  in  religious  as 
well  as  in  secular  matters,  Olevianus  became  his 
most  intimate  friend,  and  his  influence  in  the  gen- 
eral organization  of  the  church  was  plainly  apparent. 
He  was  a  splendid  orator  and  a  master  of  German 
style.  The  part  which  he  took  in  the  composition 
of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  was  probably  less  im- 
portant than  that  of  Ursinus,  but  traces  of  his  hand 
are  everywhere  visible.  To  him  have  been  ascribed 
the  decidedly  Calvinistic  elements  of  the  book  ;  and 
what  is  said  concerning  Christian  discipline  is 
almost  certainly  derived  from  him,  as  its  substance 
may  be  found  in  his  previous  writings.  As  long 
as  the  elector  lived,  Olevianus  remained  his  most 


184         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

devoted  assistant  ;  but  afterwards  he  went  to  Her- 
born,  where  he  died  on  the  15th  of  March,  1587. 
On  his  deathbed  he  was  asked  whether  he  was  cer- 
tain of  salvation,  and  he  replied  "  Certissmius^^ 
that  is,  "  Most  certain. 

Zacharias  Ursinus  (i 534-1583)  was  a  native  of 
Breslau,  in  Silesia.  The  family  name  was  originally 
Von  Baer,  but  his  father,  who  was  dean  of  St. 
Magdalen's  church,  had  Latinized  it  according  to 
the  fashion  of  the  times.  The  son  was  unusually 
talented  and  studied  philosophy  and  mathematics 
when  he  was  a  mere  child.  At  sixteen  he  was  sent 
to  the  university  of  Wittenberg,  where  Melancthon 
was,  after  the  death  of  Luther,  the  ruling  spirit. 
Here  he  studied  theology  and  his  extraordinary 
analytic  power  soon  attracted  attention.  Melanc- 
thon declared  him  his  favorite  pupil,  and  did  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  his  writings  were  unusually 
brilliant.  On  the  death  of  that  great  man  there 
was  a  reaction  in  favor  of  high  Lutheranism  ;  and 
the  favorite  disciples  of  Melancthon  were  singled 
out  for  persecution.  Ursinus,  who  was  of  a  quiet, 
contemplative  disposition,  determined  to  withdraw 
from  the  scene  of  conflict.  When  one  of  his 
uncles  asked  him  whither  he  was  going  he  replied  : 
"  If  my  dear  ^Master  Philip  were  living  I  would 
never  leave  him  ;  but  now  that  he  has  departed  I 
shall  go  to  Zurich."  In  Switzerland  he  studied 
the   writings  of  Calvin   and   others,   and   accepted 


FREDERICK  III.,  OI.l'A'L-lSUS,    I'RSINES.     1 85 

their  teachings,  though  without  giving  up  his  Me- 
lancthonian  standpoint.  He  became  especially 
attached  to  Peter  INIartyr,  one  of  the  leading  theo- 
loo-ians  of  the  Reformed  church,  and  at  his  sugges- 
tion  he  was  invited  by  Frederick  III.  to  become 
professor  of  theology  at  Heidelberg.  Here  he  was 
intimately  associated  with  Olevianus  ;  and  it  was 
but  natural  that  to  these  two  men  should  be  com- 
mitted the  important  work  of  preparing  the  new 
Confession  of  Faith. 

It  is  not  easy  to  understand  how  men  so  different 
in  disposition  and  training  could  unite  in  producing 
a  thoroughly  harmonious  work.  Olevianus  was 
fiery  and  eloquent  ;  Ursinus  was  retiring  and  didac- 
tic. The  one  took  an  intense  interest  in  public 
affairs  ;  the  other  made  few  friends  and  cared  more 
for  books  than  for  popular  applause.  Olevianus 
was  a  Calvinist  and  Ursinus  a  disciple  of  Melanc- 
thon  ;  but  together  they  prepared  a  work  in  which 
the  individuality  of  each  disappears,  and  which 
possesses  a  much  higher  order  of  merit  than  any- 
thing which  either  could  have  separately  produced. 
Surely,  this  is  one  of  the  marvels  of  literature. 

Ursinus  was  the  principal  author  of  the  Heidel- 
berg Catechism,  and  from  him  its  profoundly 
Christologic  character  was  no  doubt  chiefly  derived. 
In  its  preparation  materials  derived  from  the  writ- 
ido-s  of  Calvin  and  A'Lasco  were  freelv  employed, 
but  it  is  in  the  fullest  sense  an  original  work.      Its 


1 86         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

general  tone  is  irenic  and  conciliatory,  though  it 
contains  several  polemic  questions  which  are  be- 
lieved to  have  been  inserted  at  the  express  com- 
mand of  the  elector,  if  they  were  not  actually  com- 
posed by  him.  The  eightieth  question,  w^hich  de- 
clares the  Roman  mass  to  be  "  an  accursed  idol- 
atry," was  inserted  into  the  second  edition,  and  has 
been  supposed  to  have  been  in  some  degree  a  coun- 
ter-blast on  the  part  of  the  elector  to  the  fulmina- 
tions  of  the  council  of  Trent. 

The  later  years  of  Ursinus  were  comparatively 
uneventful.  He  was  recognized  as  a  theologian  of 
the  highest  order,  and  it  became  his  chief  duty  to 
explain  and  defend  the  catechism.  After  Fred- 
erick's death,  in  1576,  he  was  removed  from  his 
professorship  at  Heidelberg;  and  though  he  was 
ojBTered  a  similar  position  in  his  native  city,  he  pre- 
ferred to  become  a  teacher  in  a  theological  school 
which  the  elector's  second  son,  John  Casimir,  had 
founded  at  Neustadt.  Here  he  labored  for  five 
years,  and  died  on  the  6th  of  March,  1583,  in  his 
forty-ninth  year.  On  his  monument  was  placed  an 
inscription  which  called  him  "  a  great  theologian, 
a  conqueror  of  heresies  concerning  the  person  of 
Christ  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  mighty  with  word 
and  pen,  an  acute  philosopher,  a  wise  man,  and  a 
stern  instructor  of  yottth." 

It  has  been  the  fate  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism 
to  be  extravagantly   praised   by   its  friends  and  as 


FRlini'lRICK  III  ,  ()LI-:VIA.\('S,    I'RSINL'S.     1S7 

fiercely  deiiouneed  by  its  eiiciiiies.  IiuiiR-diately  after 
its  publication,  in  1563,  it  was  formally  approved  by 
I)Ullinger  and  the  church  of  Zurich  ;  and  the  bonds 
which  connected  the  Palatinate  with  Switzerland 
were  thereby  strengthened.  From  that  day  to  this 
it  has  been  the  most  generally  accepted  confession 
of  the  Reformed  church,  and  its  excellencies  as  an 
exposition  of  Reformed  doctrine  have  been  almost 
universally  recognized.  Max  Goebel  says  :  "  The 
Heidelberg  Catechism  may  be  regarded  as  the 
flower  and  fruit  of  the  entire  German  and  Frer.ch 
reformation  ;  it  has  Lutheran  earnestness,  Melanc- 
thonian  clearness,  Zwiuglian  simplicity,  and  Cal- 
vinistic  fire,  all  harmoniously  blended  ;  and  there- 
fore notwithstanding  many  defects  and  hardnesses, 
it  has  been,  together  with  the  Augsburg  Confession 
of  1540,  the  only  common  confession  and  doctrinal 
standard  of  the  entire  German  Reformed  church 
from  the  Palatinate  to  the  Netherlands,  and  to 
Brandenburg  and  Prussia." 

In  a  general  way  the  tone  of  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism  was  irenic  ;  but  it  must  not  be  supposed 
that  its  authors  expected  it  to  be  accepted  without 
controversy.  They  were  in  the  midst  of  one  of  the 
greatest  conflicts  in  the  history  of  the  church  ;  and 
it  was  but  natural  that  they  should  endeavor  to  jus- 
tify their  position.  On  several  points  which  were 
at  the  time  most  violently  discussed  we  could  wish 
that  they  had  expressed  themselves  differently  ;  but 


1 88         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

the  fact  that  they  were  thoroughly  honest  has  never 
been  called  into  question.  It  was,  however,  to  these 
points  that  the  attacks  of  their  enemies  were 
especially  directed,  and  the  conflict  became  more 
intense  than  ever. 

In  1566  the  emperor  Maximilian  II.  cited  the 
elector  Frederick  to  appear  before  the  diet  at  Augs- 
burg ;  and  the  summons  was  generally  believed  to 
be  equivalent  to  his  condemnation.  His  brother, 
Richard  of  Simmern,  was  greatly  alarmed,  and 
warned  him  that  it  would  be  safer  not  to  attend  the 
diet  ;  but  he  wrote  in  reply  :  "  I  confide  in  my  dear 
and  faithful  Father  in  heaven,  trusting  that  He  will 
employ  me  as  an  instrument  of  His  omnipotence  to 
declare  His  name  in  these  latter  days,  not  only  in 
word  but  also  in  deed,  to  the  holy  empire  of  the 
German  nation,  as  my  dear  brother-in-law,  the  late 
elector  duke  John  Frederick  of  Saxony,  also  did  ; 
and  though  I  am  not  so  bold  as  to  compare  myself 
in  intellectual  strength  with  the  departed  elector,  I 
know  that  the  same  God  who  preserved  him  in  the 
knowledge  of  His  holy  Gospel  is  still  living  and 
mighty,  and  that  He  will  preserve  me,  a  poor  weak 
man,  through  the  power  of  His  Holy  Spirit,  even 
though  it  should  cost  my  blood  ;  and  if  it  should 
please  my  God  and  Father  to  grant  me  this  honor, 
I  could  never  be  sufficiently  thankful,  whether  in 
this  world  or  in  the  world  to  come." 


FREDERICK  III.,  OI.El'IAN (  S,    CRSIXCS.     189 

The  appearance  of  the  elector  before  the  diet  of 
Augsburg  was  an  act  of  the  highest  courage. 
Though  he  was  supreme  in  his  own  province  he 
was  supposed  to  be  powerless  in  the  presence  of  the 
emperor  and  the  assembled  princes.  At  first  he 
seemed  to  have  no  friends,  and  it  was  proposed  to 
exclude  him  from  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  Augs- 
burg, unless  he  signed  a  complete  recantation  of 
his  religious  views.  In  Heidelberg  it  was  reported 
that  he  had  been  arrested  and  executed.  It  soon, 
however,  became  evident  that  the  earnestness  and 
unaffected  piety  of  the  elector  was  making  a  pro- 
found impression  ;  and  this  effect  was  increased 
by  several  excellent  sermons  preached  by  his  chap- 
lain. Finally  the  emperor  formulated  a  decree 
commanding  Frederick  to  abstain  from  introducing 
'' Calvinistic  novelties,"  and  requiring  him  to  re- 
store to  the  Roman  church  the  property  of  certain 
convents  which  had  been  alienated  by  the  civil 
power.  During  the  discussion  of  this  decree  the 
elector  was  required  to  absent  himself  from  the  as- 
sembly ;  but  after  its  adoption  he  re-entered  the 
hall,  followed  by  his  son,  John  Casimir,  whom  he 
called  his  "spiritual  armor-bearer,"  the  latter  bear- 
ing the  Bible  and  the  Augsburg  Confession.  On 
this  oacasion  he  offered  the  memorable  defense  in 
which  he  declared  that  he  was  not  concerned  for 
"a  cap  full  of  flesh  " — by  which  he  meant  his  own 
head — but  for  the  salvation  of  his  soul.      He  said 


190         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

that  he  did  not  know  whether  he  conld  properly  be 
called  a  Calvinist,  for  he  had  never  read  the  works 
of  Calvin  ;  but  he  was  willing  to  stand  by  his  cate- 
chism, which  contained  the  substance  of  his  faith 
and  was  so  thoroughly  fortified  by  proofs  from  the 
Scriptures  that  it  could  not  be  refuted. 

The  heroism  and  devotion  of  the  elector  were 
unmistakable,  and  the  assmbly  was  deeply  im- 
pressed. After  adjournment  Augustus  of  Saxony 
put  his  hand  on  his  shoulder  and  said:  "Fritz, 
thou  art  more  pious  than  the  whole  of  us  !"  The 
Margrave  of  Baden  also  said  to  the  assembled 
princes:  '*  Why  trouble  ye  the  elector?  He  has 
more  piety  than  all  of  us  put  together."  Violent 
measures  were  now  out  of  the  question  ;  and  a  mild 
resolution  was  adopted  in  which  it  was  declared 
that  the  elector  was  in  full  accordance  with  the 
Augsburg  Confession  in  the  article  of  justification 
by  faith,  which  had  caused  the  schism  in  the  church, 
and  in  many  other  articles,  but  did  not  fully  accept 
the  article  concerning  the  Lord's  Supper.  Never- 
theless, as  he  had  indicated  his  willingness  to  yield 
to  proofs  taken  from  the  word  of  God,  they  (the 
princes)  would  in  due  time  seek  to  convince  him  of 
his  error.  In  the  mean  time  they  "  had  no  desire 
to  oppress  the  elector  of  the  Palatinate  and  others 
who  might  vary  from  the  confession  in  one  or  more 
articles,  and  thus  to  increase  the  sufferings  of  the 
confessors  of  Christ." 


I-RI'.nr.RICK  I  If.,  ()/./■:  17  ANHS,   UA\s/Nrs.    191 

On  his  return  to  Heidelberg  Frederick  was  re- 
ceived with  the  utmost  enthusiasm.  The  ])rinces 
no  lon^^er  interfered  with  his  projects  of  reform,  as 
he  liad  been  tacitly  recognized  as  an  adherent  of  the 
Augsburg  Confession.  The  Palatinate  liturgy, 
which  had  been  published  in  the  same  year  with 
the  catechism  was  generally  introduced,  and  be- 
came a  model  for  the  liturgies  of  other  countries. 
The  elector  was  respected  even  by  his  enemies,  and 
in  time  was  regarded  as  the  political  leader  of  the 
Protestants  of  Germany.  His  second  wife,  a  count- 
ess of  Neuenar,  was  a  sister-in-law  of  count  Eg- 
mont,  who  was  executed  by  the  cruel  duke  of 
Alva  ;  and  she  aided  him  with  all  her  might  in  pre- 
paring a  refuge  for  the  exiles  of  Holland.  He 
appealed  to  the  king  of  France  in  behalf  of  the 
Huguenots  ;  and  after  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mew sent  his  son  John  Casimir  with  a  company  of 
soldiers  to  aid  Henry  of  Navarre.  Another  of  his 
sons  lost  his  life  in  battle  in  the  Netherlands ;  but 
the  father  consoled  himself  wnth  the  reflection  that 
he  had  fallen  on  the  field  of  honor  for  the  cause  of 
God  and  man.  To  the  emperor,  Maximilian  H., 
he  personall}^  presented  a  Spanish  Bible,  with  the 
words  :  "  Your  Majesty,  I  herewith  present  you  the 
treasure  of  treasures  ;  it  contains  that  heavenly  wis- 
dom which  teaches  emperors,  kings,  and  princes 
how  they  may  successfully  reign." 


192         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

During  the  latter  years  of  the  elector  Frederick 
it  was  his  chief  affliction  that  his  eldest  son,  Louis, 
whom  he  had  made  his  representative  in  the  Upper 
Palatinate,  had  become  alienated  through  the  in- 
fluence of  the  high  Lutheran  party,  and  was  vio- 
lently opposed  to  the  reforms  which  his  father  had 
introduced.  In  his  own  way  the  son  was  a  devout 
man  ;  but  it  is  an  illustration  of  the  controversial 
character  of  the  times  that  he  refused  to  see  his 
father  on  his  death-bed,  for  fear  that  the  latter 
might  make  him  promise  to  leave  the  organization 
of  the  church  unchanged.  When  the  elector  Fred- 
erick felt  that  his  end  was  approaching  he  issued 
an  address  to  his  people  in  which  he  said  :  "  I  have 
lived  long  enough  for  you  and  for  the  church,  and 
am  now^  summoned  to  a  better  life.  I  have  done 
my  best  for  the  church,  but  have  accomplished 
little.  God,  who  can  do  all  things,  and  who  cared 
for  His  church  before  I  was  born,  lives  and  reigns 
in  Heaven  ;  He  will  not  leave  you  orphans,  nor 
suffer  the  prayers  and  tears  which  I  have  offered  for 
my  successors  and  the  church  to  remain  without  a 
blessing. "  At  the  end  of  his  life  he  exclaimed  :  "  I 
have  been  detained  here  long  enough  through  the 
prayers  of  God's  people  ;  it  is  time  that  my  life 
should  come  to  an  end  and  I  be  gathered  into  the 
true  rest  with  my  Saviour."  He  died  in  his  sixty- 
first  year.  Among  the  confessors  of  the  sixteenth 
century  there  is  none  who  deserves  a  more  exalted 


FRr.ni'.RiCK  III.,  (Uj:i/.L\iJs,  ua's/aus.    193 

place  tlian  Frederick  III.,  elector  of  the  Palatinate. 

To  trace  the  history  of  the  Reformed  church  of 
the  Palatinate  after  the  death  of  P^rcderick  i.s  be- 
yond our  present  purpose.  It  may  be  said  in  a 
general  way  that  Louis  IV.  sought  in  every  possible 
way  to  undo  his  father's  work.  His  reign  of  seven 
years  was,  however,  all  too  brief  to  enable  him  to 
accomplish  his  purpose  ;  and  when  he  died,  leaving 
an  infant  son,  his  brother,  John  Casimir,  who  became 
ruler  ad  intcriin^  at  once  adopted  a  different  policy. 
The  young  prince  was  educated  in  the  Relormed 
church,  which  remained  for  many  years  established 
by  law. 

After  the  Palatinate  had  led  the  way  a  number  of 
German  cities  and  principalities  accepted  the  Re- 
formed confessions.  This  was  due  to  the  continu- 
ance of  the  sacramental  controvery  in  the  Lutheran 
church.  It  was  a  period  in  wdiich  theologians 
reigned,  and  though  many  of  them  w^ere  men  of 
the  highest  order  of  ability,  they  manifested  a  spirit 
as  contentious  as  that  of  the  secular  rulers.  Though 
almost  constantly  engaged  in  conflicts  among  them- 
selves, the  Lutheran  leaders  were,  at  least,  fairly 
agreed  in  their  antagonism  to  Calvinism.  The 
Crypto-Calvinists,  or  secret  Calvinists,  were  driven 
out  of  Saxony,  and  several  of  them  were  actually 
executed.  At  last  the  leading  theologians  of  Ger- 
many met  at  the  monastery  of  Bergen,  near  Magde- 
burg, and  on  the  28th  of  May,  1577,  adopted  a  con- 


194         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

fession  of  faith  which  was  called  the  "Form  of 
Concord."  It  was,  indeed,  intended  to  promote 
concord,  but  only  among  high-Lutherans.  From 
their  point  of  view  it  was  a  work  of  the  highest 
order  ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  for  profund- 
ity of  thought  and  acuteness  of  observation  it  holds 
the  foremost  place  among  the  confessions  of  Ger- 
many. It  was  not,  however,  a  book  for  the  people  ; 
and  the  spirit  engendered  by  the  contentions  of  the 
schools  is  plainly  apparent.  There  was  evidently 
no  inclination  to  conciliate  the  milder  party,  who 
were  offensively  termed  ' '  Sacramentarians, ' '  and 
sixteen  separate  articles  were  devoted  to  the  refu- 
tation of  their  doctrines.  Naturally  enough,  all 
this  led  to  renewed  controversy,  and  the  ''  Form  of 
Concord"  was  frequently  called  a  "form  of  dis- 
cord. "  One  by  one  a  considerable  number  of  Ger- 
man cities  and  principalities  which  had  hitherto 
held  to  the  milder  form  of  Lutheranism  passed  over 
to  the  Reformed  church.  Nassau  led  the  way,  in 
1578,  and  Bremen,  Hanau,  Anhalt,  Lippe,  and  part 
of  Hesse  followed  in  rapid  succession.  The  elector, 
John  Sigismund  of  Brandenburg,  from  whom  the 
present  imperial  family  of  Germany  is  descended, 
did  not  make  the  change  until  1613  ;  and  with  his 
transition  the  schism  m^ay  be  said  to  have  been  com- 
pleted. The  Lutherans  remained,  of  course,  by  far 
the  larger  and  more  important  body  ;  but  the  Re- 
formed   church   became  the  leading  ecclesiastical 


FREDllRICK  ///.,  OLl'A'IANUS,   URSINUS.     1 95 

organization  aloni;  tlic  whole  conrse  of  the  Rliine 
from  its  source  to  the  ocean. 

The  Heidelberg  Catechism  soon  acquired  a  cer- 
tain ecumenical  character  for  the  Reformed  churches 
on  the  continent  of  Europe.  It  was,  indeed,  not 
everywhere  employed  as  a  book  of  instruction  for 
youth  ;  but  as  a  confession  of  faith  its  authority 
was  unquestioned.  Though  not  formally  adopted 
in  Great  Britain  it  was  several  times  translated  into 
English  ;  and  its  substantial  agreement  with  the 
confessions  of  England  and  Scotland  was  freely 
acknowdedged.  In  Poland  and  Hungary  it  was  ac- 
cepted by  the  Reformed  churches  ;  and  in  the  latter 
country  candidates  for  the  ministry  were  required 
to  make  a  ptiblic  profession  of  their  purpose  to  de- 
fend it  against  all  opponents. 

Holland  was,  however,  the  country  in  which  the 
Heidelberg  Catechism  was  most  joyously  received, 
and  most  earnestly  defended.  Protestantism  had, 
indeed,  been  established  there  at  an  earlier  period. 
If  we  desired  to  trace  it  to  its  beginnings  we 
should  have  to  go  back  to  the  fourteenth  century 
when  the  "Brethren  of  the  Common  Life"  as- 
sumed a  position  which  was  decidedly  antagonistic 
to  the  pretensions  of  Rome.  Then  came  the  mys- 
tics— men  like  Wessel  Gansfort  and  Thomas 
a  Kempis — who  led  the  people  away  from  the 
barren  wastes  of  scholasticism  to  the  pure  fountains 
of   the  word  of   God.     The   Waldenses   had   not 


196         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

failed  to  prepare  the  way  for  a  reformation  in  faith 
and  practice  ;  and  last  of  all  appeared  Erasmus  of 
Rotterdam,  who  while  he  attacked  the  corruption 
of  Rome  with  keenest  satire  directed  the  people  to 
higher  ideals  of  the  true,  the  beautiful,  and  the 
good. 

When  Luther  began  the  German  reformation  he 
found  many  coadjutors  in  Holland.  In  1523  two 
young  Augustinians,  Henry  Voes  and  John  Esch, 
were  burned  in  the  public  square  of  Antwerp  for 
their  adhesion  to  evangelical  truth.  They  had  the 
sympathy  of  the  people,  and  when  they  were  led 
away  to  execution  the  crowd  at  the  windows  and 
on  the  house-tops  called  to  them  to  be  faithful  to 
the  Gospel.  In  the  flames  the  m.artyrs  responsively 
sang  the  Te  Deum  until  their  voices  were  hushed 
in  death.  In  memory  of  these  sufferers  Luther 
composed  one  of  his  most  beautiful  hymns. 

During  the  earlier  years  of  the  Reformation  no 
formal  confession  of  faith  was  adopted  by  the  Pro- 
testants of  Holland.  Gradually,  however,  the 
principles  of  Calvin  and  A'Lasco  became  predom- 
inant,* and  in  this  way  the  church  acquired  an  in- 
delible character.  In  1559,  as  we  have  seen,  Guido 
de  Bres  composed  the  Belgic  confession  ;  and  in 
1565  twenty  noblemen  formed  a  covenant  to  resist 


*  The  earliest  Protestant  confession  of  faith  in  the  Dutch  language  was 
published  by  A'L,asco  in  1550.  Though  not  formally  adopted,  it  was  exten- 
sively circulated. 


FREDERfCK  in.,  OLEVIANUS,   URSINUS.    197 

the  Spanish  iii(|iiisitioii.  In  1566  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism  was  accepted  by  the  synod  of  Antwerp 
as  ''a  form  according  to  the  faith  ;"  in  1568  it  was 
recommended  for  nse  in  all  churches  speaking  the 
Dutch  language.  Six  3'ears  later  this  adv^ice  be- 
came a  formal  decree.  Finally,  at  the  great  synod 
of  Dort,  in  161 8,  the  catechism  was  declared  to  be 
''accordant  in  all  respects  to  the  word  of  God." 

That  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  was  so  speedily 
adopted  in  Holland  was  due  in  great  measure  to  the 
influence  of  the  elector  Frederick  of  the  Palatinate 
and  of  his  chaplain,  Peter  Dathenus.  The  latter, 
who  was  a  native  of  Holland,  was  the  first  to  trans- 
late the  catechism  into  the  Dutch  language,  and  by 
direction  of  the  elector  Frederick,  he  held  synods 
along  the  lower  Rhine  and  on  the  border  of  Hol- 
land. At  the  time  of  the  greatest  persecution,  in 
1568,  the  delegates  of  the  Dutch  churches  crossed 
the  line  and  held  an  important  synod  on  German 
territory  in  the  city  of  Wesel,  under  the  presidency 
of  Peter  Dathenus. 

The  courage  and  persistence  of  the  Reformed 
church  of  Holland  during  the  terrible  persecutions 
of  the  Spanish  rule  is  one  of  the  marvels  of  history. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation  the  sixteen 
provinces,  known  by  the  collective  name  of  the 
Netherlands,  Low  Countries  or  Holland,  had  been 
regarded  as  the  most  precious  possession  of  the 
Spanish    crow^n.      "The   whole    country,"    says  a 


198         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

Spanish  writer,  "seemed  to  make  only  a  single  city, 
prosperous  communities  so  pressed  upon  each 
other." 

The  Netherlands  had  come  to  Charles  V.  by  in- 
heritance, and  he  therefore  regarded  them  as  in  a 
peculiar  sense  his  personal  possession.  In  Germany 
the  princes  were  so  powerful  that  he  did  not  venture 
to  interfere  with  their  religious  policy.  In  Hol- 
land, on  the  other  hand,  he  was  from  the  beginning 
a  persecutor,  and  the  victims  of  his  bigotry  were 
numbered  by  thousands.  He  was,  however,  in 
some  respects  an  intelligent  monarch,  and  in  his 
manner  there  was  a  bluff  geniality  which  rendered 
him  popular.  He  had  favored  the  Flemish  mer- 
chants by  opening  outlets  for  their  commerce,  and 
was  careful  to  respect  the  chartered  privileges  of 
their  cities.  Under  such  circumstances  the  perse- 
cuted Protestants  were  compelled  to  suffer  in 
silence.  It  would  have  been  folly  to  resist  when 
the  oppressor  was  the  most  popular  of  rulers. 

With  the  accession  of  his  son,  Philip  II.,  all  this 
was  changed.  The  Flemish  nobility  lost  their  credit 
at  court,  and  every  important  office  was  given  to  a 
Spanish  grandee.  The  ancient  charters  were  disre- 
garded and  the  wealth  of  the  Netherlands  w^as 
given  over  to  Spanish  cupidity.  Philip  has  been 
called  "the  incarnation  of  religious  bigotry,"  and 
to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  new  doctrines  he  estab- 
lished four   new  bishoprics   which   he  endowed  at 


FREPERICK  III ,  OL  /:*  /  'I A  A'  ( 'S,   URSINl  :V     1 99 

the  expense  of  the  eountr}-.  He  deelared  tliat  he 
would  rather  be  "  a  king  without  subjects  than  a 
ruler  over  heretics."  At  first  he  committed  the 
government  to  his  sister  Margaret  of  Parma,  but 
the  chief  comj^laint  of  the  people  was  against 
Cardinal  Granvelle,  who  was  intrusted  with  the 
establishment  of  religious  unity.  In  1566  between 
three  and  four  hundred  nobles  piesented  to  Marga- 
ret a  petition  to  remove  the  pressure  from  the  Pro- 
testant churches.  On  this  occasion  the  count  of 
Barlaimont  remarked  in  an  undertone  that  the  pe- 
titioners were  nothing  but  "  a  company  of  beggars. " 
This  expression  was  overheard,  and  the  confederacy 
wliich  was  subsequently  formed  was  known  as  ''  Les 
Gueux"  or  "The  Beggars."  Though  the  title 
was  at  first  given  in  derision  it  became  profoundly 
significant  when  a  beggar's  wallet  was  assumed  as 
the  emblem  of  a  struggle  for  liberty,  and  when 
"  the  beggars  of  the  sea"  swept  the  Spanish  fleets 
from  the  ocean. 

The  nobles  of  the  Netherlands  temporized  v/ith 
the  government  in  the  hope  of  gaining  concessions  ; 
but  the  people  were  not  to  be  restrained,  and  in 
many  places  there  were  mobs  which  destroyed  the 
images  in  the  churches.  Philip  now  determined 
to  resort  to  extreme  measures,  and  consequently  re- 
moved Margaret  and  sent  into  the  Netherlands  his 
best  general,  Ferdinand  of  Toledo,  who  was  best 
known  by  his  title,  the  duke  of  Alva.     This  man 


200         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

was  especially  suited  to  carry  out  the  purposes  of 
his  master.  He  was  cruel  by  system  and  never 
manifested  the  least  sympathy  with  his  victims. 
Even  at  the  death  of  his  only  son  he  did  not  ex- 
hibit the  slightest  emotion.  "  Death,"  he  said,  "  is 
an  every-day  matter,  and  a  wise  man  will  not  suffer 
himself  to  be  affected  by  it."  He  immediately  es- 
tablished an  exceptional  court  which  became  known 
as  "the  tribunal  of  blood."  The  leading  nobles 
were  invited  to  a  conference,  and  counts  Egmont 
and  Horn,  who  unsuspectingly  appeared,  were  ar- 
rested and  executed.  William  of  Orange  had  also 
been  invited,  but  he  excused  himself  and  retired  to 
his  principality.  No  wonder  that  Cardinal  Gran- 
velle  exclaimed  on  a  subsequent  occasion  :  "  If  the 
duke  of  Alva  has  not  captured  the  Silent  One  he 
has  accomplished  nothing." 

In  accordance  with  his  master's  instructions  the 
policy  of  the  duke  of  Alva  was  stern  and  merciless. 
During  the  six  years  in  which  he  ruled  the  Nether- 
lands, it  is  said,  eighteen  thousand  persons  were 
executed,  thirty  thousand  were  deprived  of  their 
o-oods,  and  one  hundred  thousand  left  the  country. 
This  destructive  policy  did  not,  however,  accom- 
plish its  purpose  ;  for  at  the  moment  when  the  duke 
believed  he  had  utterly  crushed  the  city  of  Brussels 
the  news  arrived  that  the  "Beggars"  had  taken 
Briel,  and  that  the  northern  provinces  were  in  arms. 
Thus  beoan  a  struggle  which  lasted,  with  many  in- 


FRF.niiRiCK  Iff.,  ofj-i'fAxrs,  rf^s/Nrs.    201 

termissions,  for  ei^^hty  years,  and  was  entirely  con- 
cluded only  when,  in  i64<S,  otlier  nations  conij^elled 
Spain  to  recoj^nize  the  independence  of  the  Dutch 
republic.  It  was,  on  the  part  of  the  Hollanders, 
one  of  the  grandest  and  most  heroic  conflicts  in  the 
history  of  the  world. 

For  a  brief  period  the  southern  provinces  were 
active  in  their  opposition  to  "the  Spanish  fury  ;" 
but  as  they  were  mainly  Catholic  they  fell  back 
under  the  power  of  Spain,  and  subsequently  re- 
mained dependencies  of  various  powers  until  they 
were  finally  incorporated  into  the  kingdom  of  Bel- 
gium. 

The  success  of  the  northern  provinces  was  due 
in  great  measure  to  the  wisdom  and  endurance  of 
their  leader  William  of  Orange.  He  belonged  to  a 
family,  originally  German,  that  was  established  at 
many  places  in  Europe.  He  was  born  at  Nassau 
in  Germany  and  therefore  preferred  to  be  called 
William  of  Nassau.  His  principality  was  a  small 
district  which  had  originally  belonged  to  Burgundy, 
but  had  not  yet  been  swallowed  up  by  France, 
though  surrounded  by  French  territory.  His 
estates  in  the  Netherlands  were,  however,  worth  far 
more  than  his  little  principality.  He  is  called 
"the  silent,"  not  from  his  taciturnity,  for  he  was 
pleasant  and  talkative,  but  because  he  showed  ex- 
traordinary wisdom  in  keeping  his  own  counsel. 
Great  in  reverses — like  Colieni,  whose  dau^rhter  he 


202         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

had  married — none  knew  better  than  he  how  to 
profit  by  the  least  success.  Surrounded  by  spies, 
he  kept  his  own  counsel ;  accused  by  enemies  of 
crimes  of  which  he  was  innocent,  he  bore  all  his 
trials  with  calmness  and  in  silence.  The  foremost 
generals  in  Europe  attacked  him  at  the  head  of 
Spanish  armies,  but  they  succeeded  only  in  pro- 
longing the  existing  struggle.  Though  fully  aware 
that  he  was  in  constant  danger  of  assassination  he 
walked  through  the  streets  of  Dutch  cities,  and 
listened  to  the  grievances  of  the  people.  He  was 
even  then  called  "  the  father  of  his  country  ;"  and 
to  this  day  his  memory  is  cherished  with  filial  affec- 
tion. 

Philip  offered  a  reward  of  twenty-five  thousand 
gold  crowns  and  a  patent  of  nobility  to  any  one 
who  should  kill  the  prince  of  Orange,  and  at  last 
he  succeeded  in  his  wicked  purpose.  A  Burgun- 
dian,  named  Balthasar  Gerard,  had  gained  the  con- 
fidence of  the  prince,  but  seized  the  first  oppor- 
tunity to  assassinate  him  as  he  was  coming  down 
the  stairway  of  his  palace  at  Delft  (July  lo,  1584). 
His  last  thoughts  turned  towards  the  sufferings  of 
his  countrymen.  "Lord  have  pity  on  my  soul," 
he  prayed,  "and  on  this  poor  people."  The  mur- 
derer was  arrested  and  executed,  but  Philip  kept 
his  promise  and  his  heirs  received  the  reward  of  the 
crime. 


FRI'lPF.RfCK  III ,  ( )A  /•;  V/Ai\  (LS,   (rRSINUS.    203 

Williaiirs  death  was  a  j^^reat  l^low  to  the  national 
cause,  and  for  a  time  the  Hollanders  were  utterly 
discouraged.  The  office  of  stadtholder  was,  how- 
ever, conferred  upon  Maurice,  the  <;ifte(l  son  of  the 
slain  leader.  He  was  but  seventeen  years  old,  but 
immediately  manifested  extraordinary  military 
genius,  and  successfully  carried  on  the  war  in  ac- 
cordance with  his  father's  plans.  For  over  forty 
3^ears  he  was  the  champion  of  the  United  Provinces, 
and  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  he  ranks  next  to  his 
father  as  a  founder  of  the  Dutch  republic.  Unfor- 
tunately, though  he  personally  cared  little  for 
theological  questions  he  took  a  prominent  part  in 
the  great  controversies  of  the  times,  apparently  for 
the  purpose  of  increasing  his  influence  and  authority. 
The  great  controvers}-  of  the  Gomarists  and  Armin- 
ians  was  thus  greatly  embittered  ;  and  though 
Maurice  succeeded  in  crushing  the  Remonstrants, 
it  has  been  said  that  "  his  later  years  were  stained 
by  a  deplorable  triumph." 

In  the  midst  of  these  conflicts — in  161 8 — the 
famous  synod  of  Dort  was  held.  It  was  convened 
by  the  States-General  of  Holland,  for  the  purpose 
of  settling  religious  questions,  and  was  the  largest 
and  most  important  council  ever  held  by  the  Re- 
formed churches.  In  one  sense  it  was  a  national 
assembly  ;  but  in  another  it  was  general,  for  almost 
all  the  national  Reformed  churches  of  Europe  were 
invited  to  send  delegates,  and  all  of  them,  except 


204         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

one  or  two  of  the  minor  German  states,  accepted 
the  invitation.  The  king  of  France,  however,  for- 
bade the  attendance  of  French  delegates  ;  and 
James  I.  of  England,  sent  five  representatives  of 
the  established  church  of  England,  but  refused  to 
permit  the  attendance  of  delegates  from  the  church 
of  Scotland.  The  canons,  or  decrees,  adopted  by 
the  synod  of  Dort  are,  however,  regarded  as  the 
best  representation  of  what  is  known  as  the  Cal- 
vinistic  system,  and  for  the  church  of  Holland  they 
became  normal.  In  Germany  they  were  not  so 
favorably  received,  and  Frederick  William,  the 
great  elector  of  Brandenburg,  actually  w^ent  so  far 
as  to  declare  them  "an  apple  of  discord,"  and  to 
forbid  their  promulgation  in  his  dominions.  The 
Heidelberg  Catechism,  however,  remained  a  com- 
mon bond  of  union  for  the  churches  of  Germany 
and  Holland. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  confessions  of  the  Re- 
formed church  are  all  variations  of  a  single  theme, 
and  that  their  differences  depend  upon  the  extent  to 
which  the  Augustinian  and  Calvinistic  principles 
were  carried  out.  They  did  not  necessarily  lead  to 
disagreement.  The  attention  of  the  churches  of 
Germany  and  Holland  was  directed  to  different  as- 
pects of  the  truth,  but  they  met  in  Christ  at  the 
centre. 

In  the  Palatinate,  especially,  the  Reformed  were 
brought  into    intimate    relations    with    the    Luth- 


FREDERICK  III. ,  OL E I  '/ANUS,   URSINf  'S.    205 

crans,  and  it  Ix-oan  to  be  believed  that  tlie 
difFerenc'js  between  the  chnrches  were  not  irrecon- 
cilable. They  were  made  to  snfTer  to,i;ethcr,  and  it 
was  but  natural  that  they  should  become  more 
closely  allied.  For  nearly  a  century  the  c(juntr\- 
was  trodden  under  the  feet  of  contending  armies, 
and  the  fairest  country  in  Europe  became  almost  a 
wilderness.  The  electoral  house  chano^ed  its  religion 
no  less  than  four  times  in  as  many  reigns,  and  those 
who  were  not  wdlliug  to  follow  their  rulers  in  their 
tergiversation  were  relentlessly  oppressed. 

In  the  mean  time  the  church  of  Rome  was  using 
every  possible  means  to  recover  its  lost  ground.  By 
the  terms  of  the  celebrated  "secret  article"  of  the 
treaty  of  Westphalia,  1648,  the  imperial  govern- 
ment pledged  itself  to  maintain  Roman  Catholic 
worship  wherever  there  were  people  who  desired  it  ; 
and  troops  of  Jesuits  traversed  the  valley  of  the 
Rhine,  seeking  claimants  for  the  emperor's  bounty. 
Under  such  conditions  dissension  among  Protest- 
ants must  have  proved  utterly  disastrous. 

In  the  mean  time  there  grew  up  in  the  Reformed 
church  a  school  of  theology  which  was  devout  rather 
than  polemic.  It  cared  less  for  decrees  than  for 
covenants,  and  sought  to  be  biblical  rather  than 
scholastic.  Coccejus,  a  native  of  Bremen,  was  re- 
garded as  its  founder,  but  he  himself  declared  that 
he  had  derived  his  theology  from  the  writings  of 
Olevianus.     He  was  followed  by  a  long  line  of  dis- 


2o6         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 

tinguished  teachers — such  as  Burmann,  Witsins, 
Lampe  and  Vitringa — whose  names  and  labors  are 
still  gratefully  remembered.  Under  the  influence 
of  their  teachings  the  inclination  towards  Christian 
union  which,  ever  since  the  days  of  Zwingli,  has 
characterized  the  Reformed  church,  was  revived 
and  extended. 

The  ereat  religious  movement  known  as  Pietism 
may  be  said  to  have  resulted  in  the  transformation 
of  the  German  churches.  Its  chief  leader,  Philip 
Jacob  Spener,  was  a  Lutheran,  but  he  had  many 
coadjutors  in  the  Reformed  church,  among  whom 
Theodore  Untereyck  was  perhaps  the  most  promi- 
nent. It  is  true,  of  course,  that  the  term  Pietist 
has  been  greatly  misused — being  commonly  ap- 
plied to  fanatical  sectarians  who  should  rather  be 
called  Mystics — but  in  a  more  extended  sense  it  may 
properly  be  employed  as  a  general  term  for  all  who, 
during  the  great  religious  revival  of  the  seventeenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries  devoted  themselves  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  inner  life.  In  1691  the  Pietists 
founded  the  university  of  Halle,  and  many  Re- 
formed as  well  as  Lutheran  preachers  were  educated 
there.  As  a  natural  result  of  their  preaching  the 
church  began  to  regard  personal  religious  exper- 
ience as  of  more  importance  than  rigid  adherence 
to  doctrinal  symbols.  It  was  a  period  of  religious 
enthusiasm,  and  gave  birth  to  a  multitude  of  sacred 
poets,  among  whom,  in  the  Reformed  church,  may 


i'Ri:ni-:RicK  in.,  ol/'.i'iani's,  {/A'S/nts.  207 

be  incntioiicd  Joacliiiii   Ncaiidcr,  Cicrliard   Tcrstec- 
gen,  the  Zollikofers,  Stilling,  and  Lavater. 

Every  student  of  history  can  tell  the  story  of  the 
French  invasion  of  the  Palatinate,  in  1689,  of 
which  the  ruins  of  the  splendid  castle  at  Heidel- 
berg are  an  abiding  memorial.  It  is  said  that  Louis 
XIV.  entertained  the  foolish  notion  that  he  could 
protect  his  country  by  transforming  the  Rhine 
country  into  a  broad  band  of  desert.  He  at  least 
succeeded  in  rendering  himself  infamous  to  all  suc- 
ceeding generations.  Then  began  the  great  migra- 
tion to  other  lands  which — stimulated  by  wars  and 
resultant  poverty — continued  throughout  the  greater 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  It  is  from  this 
migration  that  the  Reformed  church  in  the  United 
States  is  mainly  derived. 

In  Prussia  the  Reformed  and  Lutheran  churches 
were,  in  181 7,  consolidated  into  a  single  body 
known  as  the  Evangelical  church.  There  was  to 
be  no  confessional  change — individuals  were  to 
remain  Lutheran  or  Reformed  as  they  had  been 
before,  but  congregations  which  declined  to  enter 
the  union  were  deprived  of  government  patronage. 
This  "Church  Union"  has  gradually  made  its 
way  throughout  Germany,  and  now  includes  most 
of  the  churches  which  were  originally  Reformed. 
In  some  localities  confessional  distinctions  have 
been  almost  obliterated,  but  in  others^ the  inter- 
ference  of    the    government    has   revived    them. 


2o8         LEADERS  OF  THE  REFORMATION, 

There  are  still  some  groups  of  churches  which  re- 
gard themselves  as  distinctively  Reformed,  and 
these  are,  of  course,  closely  attached  to  their  ancient 
confessions. 

In  Switzerland  and  Holland  the  Reformed  church 
is  by  law  established.  It  is  well  organized  in 
France  and  Austria-Hungary,  and  has  scattered 
cono-regrations  in  other  lands.  In  America  there 
are  two  Reformed  churches,  the  one  of  Dutch  and 
the  other  of  German  origin.  Altogether  the  num- 
ber of  adherents  of  the  Reformed  confession  is  not 
less  than  ten  millions.  Though  it  has  been  ac- 
counted one  of  the  minor  branches  of  Protestant- 
ism, its  history  clearly  illustrates  the  truth  that  "a 
threefold  cord  is  not  quickly  broken."  No  other 
denomination  of  Christians  has  endured  such  dread- 
ful persecutions  ;  and  its  continued  existence  is  one 
of  the  wonders  of  history.  Among  its  chosen  em- 
blems have  been  the  burning  bush,  the  lily  among 
the  thorns,  the  ship  driven  by  the  winds  and  the 
anchor  turned  heavenward.  The  appropriateness 
of  these  emblems  cannot  be  doubted  ;  but  we  prefer 
to  them  all  the  device  on  the  seal  of  an  ancient 
church — a  rising  sun,  with  the  motto:  "After 
Darkness  cometh  Light." 


INDEX. 


A'Lasco,  176,  1S5,  196. 

Alva,  Duke  of,  199-200. 

Anabaptists,  90. 

All)crt  of  IMagclchiirsj^^  54. 

Alexander  V.,  pope,  28. 

Alexander  VI.,  pope,  49. 

Angelo,  Michael,  49. 

Antwerp,  120,  196,  197. 

Albigenses,  10. 

Ancillon,  105. 

Amiinians,  203. 

Avignon,  23,  107. 

Augsburg  Confession,  69,  173. 

Augustine,  20, 

Bartholomew,  St.,  125-127. 

Baume,  Pierre  de  la,  iot. 

"  Black  Death,"  24- 

Brandenburg,  John  Sigismund 
of,  194. 

Brandenburg,  Frederick  Will- 
iam of,  204. 

Brenz,  171. 

"  Beggars,  The,"  199. 

Briconnet,  107. 

Bohemia,  16,  18. 

Bohmischbrod,  36. 

Boleyn,  Anne,  135,  142. 

Bologna,  27. 

Bonnivard,  107. 

Bora,  Catharine  von,  65. 

Bothwell,  Harl  of,  165. 

Bourbon,  121. 

Bucer,  148,  171. 

Bulgari,  10. 


Bullinger,    irenr>-,   97,  98,    147, 
162. 

Canipeggio,  137. 

Cranmer,  114,  137-152. 

Cajetan,  56. 

Calixtines,  35. 

Calvin,  John,  100,  103-118,  162. 

Cauvin,  Gerard,  105. 

Charlemagne,  9. 

Catharine  of  Arragon,  134-141. 

Catharine  de  Medici,  120-126. 

Charles  III.,  Savoy,  loi. 

Charles  IX.,  France,  121. 

Charles  V.,  Germany,  198. 

Chatillon,   123. 

Cappel,  battle  of,  96,  97. 

Carlstadt,  63,  90. 

Cartright,  Thomas,  156. 

Clement  V.,  pope,  23,  136. 

Czechs,  16,  19. 

Cevennes,  129. 

Chillon,  loi. 

Coccejus,  205. 

Colet,  10,  131. 

Coligni,  123-127,  201. 

Colouna,  24,  27. 

Cossa,  26. 

Constance,  21,  25,  26,  29,  30,  32, 

38. 
Cordatus,  105. 

Cross,  Church  under  the,  109. 
Cop,  Nicholas,  no. 
Conde,  Louis  of ,  121,  126. 
Cotta,  Ursula,  42. 


2IO 


INDEX. 


Cromwell,  Thomas,  136,  137. 
Conservatives,  11. 
Crusades,  8. 
Cry^pto-Calvinists,  193. 

D'Ailly,  10,  106. 
D'Albret,  Jeamie,  121,  122. 
Dante,  10. 

Darnley,  Henry,  164. 
Dathenus,  Peter,  197. 
DeBure,  Idelette,  113. 
Dort,  Synod  of,  203. 

Erasmus,  10,  47,  67,  83. 

Erastus,  Thomas,  t8i. 

Eckhart,  Master,  12. 

Eck,  John,  56 

Edward  III.,  England,  20. 

Edward  VI.,  145,  146,  149. 

Eidgenossen,  loi,  109. 

Einsiedlen,  81. 

Eisleben,  39,  40,  70. 

Eisenach,  42. 

Elizabeth  of  England,  125,  154. 

Erfurt,  43,  45,  47. 

Esch,  John,  196. 

Evangelical  church,  207. 

Fagius,  148. 

Francis  I.,  France,  107,  120. 

Francis  II,,  121. 

Farel,  William,  102-104. 

Ferdinand,  Spain,  134. 

Ferrara,  Duchess  of,  112,  117. 

Frederick  "  the  Wise,"  51. 

Frederick  "the  Pious,"  ^  75-193. 

"Friends  of  God,"  11. 

Form  of  Concord,  194. 

Frundsberg,  George,  60. 


Glarus,  79. 
Geneva,  100- 119. 
Gerson,  10,  25,  106. 
Granvelle,  Cardinal,  200. 
Gregory  the  Great,  8. 
Grey,  Lady  Jane,  149. 
Gomarists,  203. 
Goudimel,  127. 
Grynaeus,  147. 
Gualter,  Rudolph,   147. 
Guido  de  Bres,  1 20,  196. 

Hamilton,  Patrick,  158. 
Heidelberg,  171. 
Heidelberg  Catechism,  181-197, 
Henry  II.,  France,  120. 
Henry  III.,  France,  121. 
Henry  IV.,  France,  122-129. 
Henry  VII.,  England,  132,   133. 
Henry  VIII.,  England,  64,  132- 

144. 
Herman  V.,  of  Cologne,  148, 
Heshusius,  177,  179. 
"  Hidden  Seed,"  36. 
Holland,  96,  195-204. 
Huguenots,   107,    109,    :20,   127- 

130,  191. 
Himianists,  12,  S3,   131. 
Huss,  John,  7-34. 
Hutten,  Ulrich  von,  69. 

Institutes,  Calvin's,  iii. 
Ivry,  battle  of,  127. 
Janow,  Matthias  of,  22. 
Jarnac,  battle  of ,  122. 
John  Casimir,  186,  189,  193. 
John  XXII.,  pope,  23. 
John  XXIII. ,  pope,  26. 


INDEX 


211 


Jonas,  Justus,  143. 
Juda,  Leo,  S7. 
Julius  II.,  pope,  49. 

Kempis,  Thomas  a,  12,  47. 

Kessler,  John,  64. 

Klebitz,  179. 

Knonau,  Meyer  von,  88. 

Knox,  John,  114,  146,  159-169. 

Ladislaus,  26,  27. 

Langside,  165. 

Latimer,  Bishop,  150. 

La  Ferriere,  11 8. 

La  Riviere,  119. 

Lavater,  207. 

Lefevre  des  Etaples,  107. 

Leman,  Lake,  jog. 

Leo  X.,  pope,  49,  52,  86. 

Liberalists,  11-13. 

Libertines,  115. 

Lissieux,  126. 

Lollards,  21. 

Louis  XIV.,  France,   129. 

Luther,  Martin,  39-74,  87. 

Luther,  Hans,  39,  41,  44,  45. 

Luther,  Jacob,  39. 

Luzerne,  97. 

Mansfeld,  70. 

Magdeburg,  42. 

Mamelukes,  loi. 

Margeret  of  Navarre,  107,  no 

Margaret  of  Parma,  199. 

Martin  V  ,  pope,  27. 

Marat,  Clement,  117. 

Martyr,  Peter,  148. 

Mary  of  England,  135,  150-153 

Mary  of  Scotland,  [61-165. 


Maurice,  Prince,  203. 
Maximilian  II.,  iSS. 
Meinrad,  St.,  81. 
Millitz,  Charles  de,  56 
Melancthon,  Philip,  58,  59,  93- 

96,  117,  173-185. 
Mohra,  40,  61. 
Mont,  Chri.stopher,  147 
Mommors,  105. 
Montmorency,  123. 
Moravians,  36. 
More,  Sir  Thomas,  131,  141. 
Morgarten,  battle,  73. 
Miinzer,  Thomas,  90. 
Myconius,  Oswald,  77. 
Mystics,  12,  83. 

Neander,  Joachim,  207. 
Neuser,  iSi. 
Nominalism,  12. 
Noyon,  105. 

Orange,  William  of,  200-203. 
Oecolampadius,  94,  102,  in. 
Olevianus,  182-184. 
Ochino,  148. 
Osiander,  138. 
Otto,  Henry,  175. 
Oxford,  20,  131. 

Palatinate,  170-204. 
Prague,  17,  18,  32. 
Pfaffers,  85. 
Petrarch,  10. 
Peasant  War,  65,  68. 
Philip  of  Hesse,  93,  171. 
Philip  II.,  Spain,  153,  148,  202. 
Philip  le  Bel,  France,  107. 
Piedmont,  11. 


212 


INDEX. 


Pole,  Cardinal,  152. 
Procopius,  35. 

Rabelais,  127. 
Ramee,  Pierre,  127. 
Recliberg,  Conrad  von,  81. 
Realism,  12. 

Reformatory  Councils,  25, 
Reuchlin,  38. 
Richelieu,  129. 
Ridley,  Bishop,  150. 
Rienzi,  24, 
Rochelle,  124,  126. 

Sacramentarians,  93,  95. 
Samson,  89. 
Sancerre,  126. 
Scotland,  156. 
Schinner,  Cardinal,  82. 
Schoenbrunner,  C7. 
Seneca,  109. 
Serv^etus,  115-116. 
Shakspeare,  10. 

Sigismund,  Emperor,  28,  60. 

Simmern,  177. 

Sickingen,  69,  171, 

Somerset,  144 

Sorbonne,  108. 

Spalatin,  60. 

Spener,  206. 

Spenser,  10. 

Stekno,  22. 

St.  Peter's  church,  53. 

Staupitz,  46,  48,  51. 

Stilling,  207. 

Strasburg,  113. 

St.  German,  124. 

St.  Victor,  106. 

Switzerland,  72-76,  96. 


Taborites,  35. 

Tauler,  John,  12,  47. 

"Table  Talk,"  67. 

Tell,  William,  73. 

Tersteegen,  207. 

Tetzel,  John,  54-55. 

Theodoric,  9 

Tillet,  Louis  du,  104. 

Tulchan  bishops,  166 

Untereyck,  Theodore,  206. 

Ursinus,  Zacharias,  184,  !85. 

Viretus,  Peter,  25. 

Voes,  Henry,  196 

Vokinger,  Captain,  97 

Waldenses,  10,  11,  195. 

Walloons,  120 

Wartburg,  62-63. 

Wessel,  Gansfort,  195. 

Westphal,  177. 

Wildhaus,  76. 

Winckelried,  73. 

Winceslaus,  Emperor,  17,  19,  28, 

34. 
Wishart,  George,  159. 
Wittenberg,  55,  57,  62-64. 
Walmar,  Melchoir,  106 
W^olsey,  Cardinal,  136. 
Worms,  Diet  of,  60 
Wycliffe,  20-23,  37,  131- 
Wyttenbach,  Thomas,  78. 

Ziska,  John,  34-35. 
Zwickau  Prophets,  63. 
Zwingli,  Ulric,  76-99.  102,  172. 
Zwingli,  Bartholomew,  78. 
Zwingli,  Regula,  89,  147. 
Zurich,  84,  90,  147. 
Zurich  Consensus,  177. 


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